The Orphans of Cerberus
by fetherhd
Summary: What is it that makes a beast a Monster and a human a man? Shinra's scientists have meddled with something that they do not understand...and Vincent and the gang get to deal with the consequences. Vincent, Yuffie, Reno, Rude, Chaos and the Galian beast play prominently in this story. It is rated M for a reason. The story is fully written but it will take me some time to edit.
1. Chapter 1

Many will have noticed that my fan fics seem to have appeared and then disappeared. For a long time now I have been very discouraged about writing fan fiction, recieving a lot of pressure from family about it being a total waste of my time. I had come to the point that I felt the stories were not appreciated by those that read them and I came to agree with my family so I pulled my fanfics in order to concentrate on original writing. Recently...I was told by another wonderful fan fic writing that it was "The Orphans of Cerberus" that inspired her to take up creative writing again. This was a bombshell to me as I had not realized that my "silly little waste if time" stories might be the catalyst that inspires one of the futures great writers. Be patient with me...my stories are going back up but I do have to edit "Orphans" to stay with in FF's Maturity guidelines. The unedited version can be found on Adult fan fiction. Thank you in advance for your patience!

This story is marked MATURE for a reason….. Due to fanfic's rules about explicit scenes…what I have decided to do is post the chapters until I get to what might be frowned upon here. When I reach this point in the story I will do some serious editing and I will provide a link to where those who meet the age requirements can continue to read on. I am considering trying to tame it down to stay with in the rules but am not sure this is possible as I feel that every bit of what I have written is essential to the story line…. I do not write gratuitous sex. I truly hope that this is not to much of an inconvenience but it is the only way I believe that I can honor fanfic.'s rules and restrictions.

The Orphans of Cerberus

Chapter 1

Awareness came slowly to Yuffie Kisaragi. It took her a moment to realize she was lying face down on cold, wet pavement. What?…where?…rolled slowly through the young woman's confused mind and she tried to push herself up. Her brain wasn't functioning well at all but it DID tell her that something was terribly wrong; her arms didn't want to work as they should. When she managed to get her eyes to focus, all she could see was torn flesh, broken bones, and the red of running blood.

Holy SHIT… the girl thought, that can't be good.

A coughing grunt and the rending sounds of something relatively large feeding on flesh had her flattening back down and playing dead. Pain was starting to filter through the numbness in her brain. The young ninja welcomed it. It gave her something to focus on while she tried to sort out what was going on. She realized that there was a body on the ground not to far from where she lay. Her mind hazily pinned a name on it. "Dex…" She had gone clubbing with the young man and his date, her mind scrabbled around trying to remember, "Ah yes…."she felt slightly triumphant "…Melissa." The triumph turned to sick nausea as memory came flooding back and she figured out what (who) was being eaten.

They had been walking back towards Tifa's place (Dex had insisted on seeing her safely there) when a nightmare had dropped in amongst them. Yuffie had gotten the impression of black fur, glowing yellow eyes, and long white teeth as the monster launched itself at her throat. It was incredibly fast. She had gotten her arms up but had been slammed back into a wall by its weight. Her head had impacted with the bricks and after that, things had gotten muddied. Yuffie did remember kicking the creature a few times, hard in the belly as it savaged her arms. She vaguely heard Melissa screaming through the ringing in her ears, then, the …thing….had dropped her and turned its attention elsewhere.

A difference in the night caught the girl's wavering attention. It was silence; she could no longer hear gruesome sounds of meat tearing and bones crunching. Stifling her own moan, she somehow managed to get herself rolled over. There was blood everywhere, hers, Dex's and… her stomach heaved. Partially it was her probable concussion, but mostly it was the bits and pieces of flesh scattered around haphazardly in pools of blood. It was all that was left of the vivacious young woman that had danced so enthusiastically at the clubs that night.

A slight movement attracted Yuffie's gaze, she saw Dex's hand clench and realized that he was still alive. That motivated her to try and get her battered body moving. Yuffie had just managed to work herself up with her back against the wall (no small feat when fighting the dizziness of blood loss on top of the dizziness of a concussion) when another nightmare strolled out of the darkness with a loose limbed, four legged stride. It eased up to the terrified ninja and swung its long, narrow muzzled head so it could look into her face. Yuffie was so paralyzed by shock, pain, and fear that she could only watch and hope it killed her quickly. A slight smile pulled at her lips, some ninja… shit… she couldn't get her arms up to do ANYTHING. The monster's own lips rolled up in reaction, revealing long white fangs. Its nostrils twitched, then swung in close, delicately SNIFFING at the injured girl's breath. Apparently satisfied, it settled back on its haunches and dug around in a pouch that was on a belt around its narrow waist.

HOLD ON…. Yuffie knew she had to be delirious. She wished she was, a moment later when stubby fingered, sharp clawed… hands… stretched her arms out, one at a time and bound them tightly with strips of cloth. She didn't even have the strength to scream; only whimpers came out of her mouth.

The girl managed to hold on to consciousness as the creature rose and ambled over to the fallen man. Yuffie's hope surged as the thing gently rolled Dex over and did the same odd, SNIFFING around his face. It stood for a minute head lowered, as if THINKING, and then it slid its weird looking "hands" through his hair. One hand stayed on Dex's head, seeming to be petting and the other stroked down his jaw. Yuffie had no warning as those strong hands grasped and twisted sharply, breaking the young man's neck.

Oh my Gods…oh my Gods….oh my f****** Gods!... ran through the ninja's fading mind as the monster turned its unwavering attention back to her. As the killer approached, Yuffie dreamily noticed that it had eyes the color of quicksilver. Again it crouched by her and dug around in that pouch, this time the girl did manage a thin scream before she passed out, as it pulled out a hypodermic syringe with a long, thin needle and plunged it into her neck.

* * *

The creature huffed softly to herself, she had waited for the human to loose consciousness; she was, after all, a very cautious creature. Carefully checking the still body over, she found the girl's cell phone. Opening it, the female scrolled through the menu and picked a number at random. She looked around verifying where she was and tapped in a quick text, then she sent the call. Carefully setting the phone on the young woman's slowly moving chest, the beast climbed up to the roof tops to watch and wait. The pressure bandages had slowed the bleeding, the injection of her antibodies MIGHT stop the virus, and this one was young enough that she should survive until help arrived.

Tifa was relieved that Cloud was there to help shoo the last few diehards out of the front door of Seventh Heaven at closing time. Normally it was no problem for her, but with Vincent visiting, any drunk who SEEMED to give her the slightest bit of flack usually found themselves casually pitched head first into the street by the enigmatic gunman. Although hard to rile, Valentine had a low tolerance were rudeness was concerned. It was hard on business when the quiet man decided to make one of his rare visits.

Glancing up from wiping down the bar, Tifa couldn't stifle her smile as Cloud paused halfway up the steps leading to their room, making subtle, come hither motions. She passed the shadowed table where Valentine sat; lean frame comfortably slouched back against the wall, inevitable glass of red wine in hand. A gold glimmer in his crimson eyes gave away the fact that… maybe… Cloud's gestures weren't as subtle as he thought.

"Umm, Vincent, do you need anything else before we go to….."

Tifa trailed off, a light blush climbing her cheeks as Clouds hints from the stairway became less than subtle, she grinned as she watched him, and then jerked her attention back to the part of the slender gunslinger's face that she could see above his cloak's collar. One elegant eyebrow arched up, making her cheeks burn in response.

Those carnelian eyes twinkled,

"I require nothing Tifa… Cloud on the other hand…" She could have sworn the gunman's lips quirked up.

"I shall just wait here and make sure Yuffie makes it in safely."

Tifa chewed her lip lightly as she glanced towards the door. The hyper ninja was a little late, but not abnormally so. She glanced back at the quiet man and smiled,

"You do realize that she will most likely be drunk when she gets here?" She raised her brow in imitation of him, making no effort to hide the twinkle in her own rich red/brown eyes.

"Hnnnn…."

Was the only answer that Vincent returned.

Tifa's eyes widened as Cloud made a very suggestive motion with his slender hips and the petite woman couldn't stand it any longer.

"Good night Vincent,"

She giggled and chased her lover up the stairs.

Valentine watched the pair grope and giggle their way to their room and ruthlessly squelched the envy that tried to worm its way through his chest. He had managed to shed a large portion of the guilt he had carried for so long, after the battle at Deepground. But the fact that his demons still dwelled within, kept him from loosening the tight control he kept on his emotions. Any of what was considered the…HOT… emotions… anger, hate, passion… could prove a trigger to one of the monsters locked inside, so he had conditioned himself to keep things cold and emotionless. His friends did not understand, but that was acceptable, it kept them safe.

Speaking of safe, he thought with a hint of unease. Yuffie was now most definitely late. Valentine had no sooner finished the thought when he heard Tifa's phone faintly ringing. It rang quite a few times before she picked up, the gunman's pale lips twitched; they must have forgotten to turn it off before hand. It was probably the young ninja needing help home.

He was surprised when both Cloud and Tifa came thundering down the stairs a minute later in various stages of undress. Vincent straightened up, alarmed by the fear on their faces. Tifa didn't say anything; she just flipped her phone to him. Catching it, he read the text Yuffie had sent. There was an address, not too terribly far from the bar, and then just three simple words... Death visits here.

* * *

The creature waited quietly, she spent her time licking her hands and feet clean of all of the blood that had caked on them off of the street below. She had real difficulties dealing with the fact that her carnivorous side truly enjoyed the sweet coppery taste. She tried to ignore the pleasure, as she recalled the many times that Sergeant had drilled into her that the eating of anything human was a bad thing. The beast side rationalized that she had to be sure to leave no trail home, so the blood had to go. Her thin ears twitched as they picked up the loud roar of a vehicle, it almost drowned out the sounds of something coming fast over the roof tops. She crouched low, the fact that a human would take this risky route surprising her. Her sharp eyes caught a blur of black and crimson in the darkness on the roof opposite her position and her mane ruffed out at the thought that shuddered through her ….PREDATOR!.

For a moment she poised to leap down if the crimson cloaked figure proved to be a threat to the injured woman, but instantly relaxed when she heard the fear and concern in the tall man's soft, deep voice as he knelt down and murmured.

"Yuffie!"

Vincent had left the bar and taken the most direct route to the address that was on the cell. He flowed over the rooftops utilizing every bit of the unnatural speed he had been enhanced with. As a result he arrived at the gruesome scene before Cloud and Tifa, who came on the swordsman's cycle. He felt his demons awaken, stirring as the warm scent of death and blood rose up from the alley and he made sure to keep them under an iron control. Dropping easily on to the bloody street he strode over to Yuffie's crumpled, pale form. Experienced eyes swept over the three bodies as he carefully knelt, normal hand gently probing the young ninja's neck, desperately searching for a pulse. He softly murmured her name in relief. It was there, weak and thready, but there. Careful fingers brushed the bandaging on the young woman's arms as he used his enhanced senses to search the alleyway. GODS….he thought, there was so much blood. Cloud and Tifa had parked a short ways away and he distinctly heard Clouds choked intake of breath and Tifa's retching.

"Don't come any closer,"

He waved them back with his gauntleted hand and gathered the ninja's limp, bloody form in his arms. Cloud and Tifa overrode their concern for Yuffie and obeyed. They knew the ex-Turk didn't want them accidentally disturbing any of the gory evidence. Vincent was planning on tracking the killer if he could.

He carried the young woman over and gently turned her over to the blonde. His deep voice was rough with concern and repressed anger.

"She is alive, but only just. Get her to the emergency center. I will see what I can do here."

* * *

Quicksilver eyes watched the crimson cloaked human from the shadows, with growing concern. The creature had fully expected that whoever came to rescue the woman would be in a rush to leave and get her to help. She had NOT even considered that one would stay and cover the bloodied ground with the thoroughness that only a born killer could achieve.

The female flattened out even more as the man found the murderer's tracks leaving the scene but did not follow them. He kept systematically searching until he found the faint tracks that she had left in the tacky blood when she had arrived. Then like a silent shadow, the hunter followed them over to the male who had been so badly infected that he was not salvageable. He did not seem to mind handling the dead as he examined the deep but not immediately fatal wounds on the corpse's neck, and she could hear him mutter quietly to himself when his sensitive fingers discovered the broken neck.

Stilling even her breathing, the creature eased back, closing her inner eyelids so that her gaze went from bright silver to slate grey, a color that was much harder to spot in the darkness. The man stopped again at the bloody spot where his companion had lain and he shook his long raven hair back from his face as his odd colored eyes tracked her slight imprints to where she had climbed up to the roof. Her instincts screamed….RUN…. but Sergeant had spent years training her, with sometimes harsh methods, so that she was able to override the animal impulses with her considerable intelligence. She would only break if he flushed her.

* * *

Vincent kept perfectly still as his senses probed the dark roofs. Having learned everything he needed to know from the gory street, he was trying to decide which trail to follow. There had been two creatures here. With the similarities in the tracks, he had come to the conclusion that they were of the same type, the second one being quite a bit smaller than the one who had initiated the original attack. He found it very odd, that the larger was the only one that seemed to have fed off of the kill. And why had the second beast killed Yuffie's companion after the initial attack and not her?

With a soft, "Hnnnn…" the gunman came to a decision and decided to track what seemed to be the most dangerous one of the pair.

* * *

Tense muscles gradually relaxed, as the hidden one watched the hunter disappear into the dark. The female eased up, she had a bolt hole relatively close that she would head for. There was NO way she was leaving any trail back to her home that the crimson one could follow.

The creature looked in the direction that the noisy machine had come from. Her inner eyelids flicked back and an oddly wistful expression sifted through the silver eyes, then passed over her long muzzled face. The injured girl had many who seemed to care for her, something the female truly envied. She huffed sadly and hoped that the young one would recover; her brother was becoming careless, usually he killed all of his victims. What she had done tonight was a long shot in the dark and she may still have to track the girl down and euthanize her. Thankfully, the rest of her siblings, when they did venture out, were not as apt to leave any injured victims alive. She would never have been able to keep the virus from spreading if that was the case. As it was, eventually she was going to miss on a clean up, and then all hell would break loose.

* * *

The light of dawn was just filtering through the windows of the intensive care unit waiting room when Valentine arrived. Cloud was there, which was a bit of a surprise as the blonde had almost as bad an aversion to anything medical as the gunman.

The blonde wearily looked up as the ex-Turk quietly entered the room.

"Tifa is with her, they will only let us in one at a time. It was touch and go for a little while, but barring infection, the doc's think she will be okay."

Cloud rubbed his vivid blue eyes and slid a hand down his face.

"GODS….Vincent, whatever got to her practically shredded her arms. They still haven't figured out how she got herself wrapped up…."

The swordsman stopped at Vincent's slight frown and the small shake of his head.

The tall man walked over to the window.

"She didn't…. I found traces of TWO monsters. One attacked first, fed and then left. I tracked it as far as the Midgar ruins. The other…I think that second creature helped Yuffie, but then it killed the boy who was with her."

Vincent shook his head slightly, he had been unable to track the smaller monster more than a couple of blocks. What secretly worried him were the obvious signs of intelligence it had shown. That one had NOT wanted to be followed and had gone though great pains to cover its trail.

The smaller man looked up; he caught the odd expression that crossed the normally impassive gunman's face.

"Do you think there are more of them?"

Cloud Strife would remember the ex-Turks next words in the near future, as the man was as dead on with his prediction as he was with his gun.

Valentine shrugged slightly,

"I hope not….Cloud….If there are, and they are as intelligent as the second beast seems to be. We may have a serious problem."

* * *

This is very much my fault; Valentine couldn't shake the thought as he carefully ran a finger tip over Yuffie's heavily bandaged and splinted arm. The surgeons had repaired all of the damage, but due to the massive amount of blood the girl had lost, they were waiting for her to regain a little of her strength back before they used a CURE.

"Owowowowow….ow!"

It was just a breathy whisper, but it made the gunman snatch his hand back like it had been burned.

His crimson eyes darted to the pale face and the young woman looked up at him. His companions would have been surprised by the gentleness present in his deep voice.

"Do you need more pain medication Yuffie?"

Her brown eyes blinked sleepily, opened to about half mast.

" Heya Vinnie…noo….mm..nose itches."

She shrugged her shoulders slightly and winced.

"Can't seem ta get m…hands up to scratch, could ya?"

It's the least I can do, Yuffie, he thought as he reached down and lightly scratched her nose. She sighed and her eyes slipped back closed.

Vincent continued scratching gently for a moment or two. Then he bent down, smoothed her soft dark hair back from her face and whispered.

"You asked me… no… begged me to go with you last night. If I hadn't refused, you would not be here and your two friends would not be dead. For that… I am very, very sorry."

* * *

Tifa wearily rested her head on her crossed arms, thank the gods there were only a couple of patrons in the bar. Reno and Rude had wandered in supposedly to have just a drink or two, but the woman knew they were concerned about Yuffie. It had been two days since the attack and the Doctors had been planning on using a CURE today to heal up the worst of the damage. Neither Vincent nor Cloud had called yet and all of them were concerned. Every time her phone rang the two Turks would look over until she shook her head at them. It would have been cute except for the fact that she was so tired.

A soft sound, and a small piece of paper being slipped practically under her nose, brought her head up. She had to blink a couple of times to get her eyes to focus on the written words. It simply said, I would like a cup of tea please. Surprised she looked up into a lightly tanned face and two concerned eyes that were the pale, pale blue of old arctic ice. The young woman stood very still as she waited patiently for Tifa to get her brain in gear.

Tifa always had tea available; Cid was addicted to the stuff, so it only took a moment for her to prepare a cup. It was a testament to her exhaustion when she absently asked if the woman wanted sugar and cream. She winced, embarrassed when the woman just shook her head slightly. Her long, rich cinnamon colored tresses flowed around her like a mane. The blue eyes narrowed a little as if thinking and the woman's slender, long fingered hands seem to flow through a short complex dance. Tifa stared, confused, it was beautiful to watch but she had no clue what the woman needed.

"Yo…"Reno had oozed his way up to the bar,

"She said…No cream or sugar, but some honey and lemon would be nice."

The red head gave the newcomer what he considered a sexy smile.

"You mute or something?"

The woman nodded slightly and tapped her lips then tapped her throat; she did not smile in return at the lanky Turk. Carefully picking up her tea she stepped back and made her way over to sit by a window. Reno leaned lazily against the bar making no secret that he was ogling the woman's tall slender form as she walked away.

Tifa poked him hard.

"Reno, how did you know what she was saying?"

The Turk looked solemnly at her as Rude joined them at the bar. The big man sounded thoughtful as he stared at the stranger who was delicately sipping the hot tea in small deliberate mouthfuls.

"It's a type of sign language that we are taught for covert operations. The question you should be asking is…..where the hell… did she learn it?"

* * *

Please be patient I wil get these posted as fast as possible


	2. Chapter 2

Getting these up as quickly as I can...this is a fanfiction. I make no money from it Square Enix holds all rights to the final fantasy world and its characters, I hold the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 2

Ice did her best not to respond to the male's stares. She found them threatening but managed to control the aggression that tried to rise in response. Pale blue eyes lingered on theirs for a moment then studiously ignored them as she curiously examined the room. Her home was isolated and it had been a very long time since she had been out to deliberately mingle in the company of others. The last time had been a catastrophe with such dire consequences that, up until recently, she had preferred the security of being alone.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the different smells that swirled around the bar. The smell of alcohol and tobacco were predominant. But her sensitive nose could sort out other fainter scents. The woman behind the bar had a warm sweet scent; it was intermingled everywhere, marking this place as her home. The large dark male had a deep, smoky scent; it reminded her of her brother, Shadow. Here was one who, although quite capable of being an Alpha, was content with his place in life, willing to follow a strong leader. The other…..his scent was sharp and misleading, a mixture of bravado, foolishness and underneath, hidden away from all, the steadiness of unshakable loyalty. That one would protect his partner to his last breath.

She wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes, huffing softly, her ploy had worked and the males now had their attention elsewhere. The tea smelled wonderful and tasted even better. Ice had to take very small sips; it was hot and she needed to let it cool a little in her mouth before she could swallow it down her damaged throat. Even with liquids she had to be careful or she would end up in pain and choking.

* * *

Rude had studied the woman long and hard, thinking that maybe she was a former trainee who had disappeared when Shinra had crumbled. Her distinct looks didn't match any of the files that he had seen on the missing. He was seriously considering pursuing it when Tifa made a call and came back to the bar smiling.

"The CURE took and the hospital is releasing Yuffie to finish recuperating here."

The smile covered her whole face,

"Rude, will you keep an eye on things while I go up and make sure her room is up to par?"

The big man's lips twitched; secretly pleased that she had asked him and he nodded. Reno straightened up sharply,

"Hey…. What am I…..? Chopped liver!"

Tifa just snorted and rolled her eyes as she sprinted up the stairs.

Rude gave his partner an exasperated look from behind his shades.

"Man. like anyone would leave YOU in charge of a bar."

* * *

Ice watched the woman run up the stairs, her weariness evidently forgotten. She heard the two males bickering easily at each other, as the dark one went behind the bar. She took the last sip of her tea letting it slide down her throat; it was time for her to leave. It had been nice to indulge her civilized side but she knew better than to tempt fate. Picking up the cup, she carried it back to the bar and set it down. The woman placed what she figured would be a fair price for the tea beside it and turned to leave.

"Hey….."

Rude caught her wrist. Only with a supreme effort did Ice manage to clamp down on the instant fear that being touched by a dominant male caused. She glanced at her wrist trapped in the big man's hand and slowly looked up into his face, keeping her own completely still. Sergeant had named her Ice for a reason. She hated that she couldn't see the man's eyes.

He gently released her.

"Man…. That's way too much for just tea."

He pushed a couple of the coins back her way but she was already backing slowly towards the door. Reno made a subtle move to block her path, but Rude gave a slight shake of his head. The Turk had seen a flash of pure terror in those strange eyes, and they had shimmered to silver before she had looked into his face with an eerie calm. He also had felt a good sized knife sheathed under the sleeve on the thin, but muscled forearm. He figured Tifa wouldn't appreciate accidental blood being spilled in the bar, even if it was some of the obnoxious red head's. Reno turned to watch as the woman slipped by him and walked out of the door.

He glanced at his partner, and waggled his red eyebrows.

"Wow…..your first tip."

* * *

The woman just stood for a minute in the fading sunlight. She took a second to silently thank Sergeant for his endless lessons on staying in complete control. As she started her long walk home, a black motorcycle purred passed, heavily loaded with three figures. She recognized the two males. The young female sandwiched between them, although looking a little worse for wear, appeared much healthier than the last time they had met. She clicked her tongue happily against the roof of her mouth and headed towards home, she had no reason to hide her trail tonight.

* * *

Yuffie had to admit, she certainly didn't mind being pressed up against Cloud's slender but nicely muscled back. She couldn't really hold on with her hands, as even with a CURE it would take a while before they were totally healed. They were still wrapped to support healing bones and moving her fingers hurt like a bitch. This was why Vincent had agreed to ride home with them; he had his strong arms locked around her, helping her to balance from behind. If she hadn't been so loopy with pain medication and if her hands had worked a little better, she was sure she would have taken the opportunity to do some groping. Hold on….now that she thought about it, that would be a PERFECT excuse if Tifa caught on. CRAP! She just couldn't get her arms to cooperate. What a lost opportunity.

* * *

Valentine stepped off of the bike and balanced it as Yuffie tried to dismount. He ended up catching the young woman as she fell. The girl (woman… he silently corrected himself… as the firm body he cradled in his arms CERTAINLY wasn't that of a girl anymore) was still very weak from loss of blood and the pain medications the doctors had prescribed could probably floor one of his demons. Ignoring her half hearted complaining he carried her through the bar and upstairs to her room. Tifa had everything ready and the gunman settled the slim body on the bed taking a moment to carefully tuck the blankets around her. The trip over had wiped out what little energy Yuffie had gained from the Cure.

Her eyes definitely had a spaced out look in them.

"Thanks Vin…ya know, you smell really nice."

She smiled and fell asleep. Yep… the man thought rather startled at the words…. She was definitely wasted. He heard Tifa snickering behind him and turned with all the dignity he could muster.

"If she wakes up… please let me know, her description of what attacked her has been sketchy at best."

Actually the ex-Turk had hesitated to press Yuffie about it as she had gotten very upset when he tried. He hoped in a more secure setting, his traumatized friend would be more able to talk about it. Vincent headed back downstairs only to stop in amazement at the sight of Rude stationed behind the bar.

The man's sunglasses swung to look at him.

"Valentine…"

The gunman just blinked, then growled,

"Where's Reno?"

He did not trust the big man's red headed partner.

Rude shrugged and handed the ex-Turk a glass of red wine.

"He is out chasing women."

* * *

Ice had stopped at one of her bolt holes and slid out of the uncomfortable clothes that humans insisted on wearing. All she left on was her harness that carried her knives and whatnots, leaving her hands free. She did don a long soft cloak, as she knew that nakedness in public was frowned upon. She strolled casually along, watching people and just in general enjoying things that she normally didn't get to see. She didn't even mind the fact that traffic was heavy due to the weekend coming up. As a result it was getting late when she approached what was left of Midgar.

She was almost to the ruins, when a flicker of motion alerted her. She had a split second to turn and get her hands up before a blur of cream on gold knocked her backwards to the ground. Of all of her birth litter, Ice was probably the fastest at making the "Change." Sergeant had worked her hard at it until she could shift in the time it took a person to take a deep breath. By the time she hit on her back… hard… she was no longer human and her strong, talon tipped, stubby fingers were buried in the white mane under her attacker's snapping jaws, twisting those long nasty teeth up and away from her neck. She kicked hard, trying to get a purchase with her hind claws on the soft underbelly straddling her and her sister released her with a savage scream to leap off and land a short distance away. Quicksilver eyes caught another blur in motion, and she twisted sideways rolling out of the interfering soft cloak, barely avoiding getting pinned by the bigger of the pair that were after her blood.

Ice scrambled to her feet, senses actively searching for a path of escape. If she only had to deal with her sister she might have had a chance. The pale gold sibling was only just slightly larger than herself and even with the size difference, brains COULD overcome brawn. The female backed slowly, her mane standing straight out, making her appear larger. She had her head lowered to protect her very vulnerable throat and her mouth gaped in challenge, exposing her long ivory canines as she made herself seem as threatening as possible.

She could feel blood running from stinging wounds where her sister had scored her sides; the BITCH was wearing silver tipped extensions on her natural weaponry. THESE weren't going to heal anytime soon. Her silver gaze tracked the second dark brown, heavily maned attacker; HE was the one who was going to kill her. There was no chance that she could win a battle with his much heavier bulk, longer claws, and massive fangs. Against the two of them together, she was totally screwed.

Ice watched Lahar stalk towards her; her brother was on one side blocking her escape towards the city. Her sister waited on her other side; she was there to prevent Ice from escaping into Midgar. Silver eyes tried to watch them both. The only way to get to the maze of the ruins, where she might have a chance to lose them, was to go through her sister. There was NO way she was getting passed her brother. The female knew that her siblings would follow and try to run her into the ground. The female did NOT want to lead them back towards the crowded streets.

Hissing softly through her teeth, she slowly straightened up until she was standing on her hind legs. Her dexterous fingers deftly plucked one of her throwing knives from her harness. Lahar shifted from a stalk into a roaring charge. Watching him come, Ice fully understood why Sergeant had pinned that particular name on the great brown beast. Gathering herself, the female launched forwards to meet his charge. As she did, Ice hurled the balanced throwing knife at the blonde form on her left, putting all of her strength behind the throw. Caught off guard, her sister didn't get out of its way fast enough and the silver laced blade buried itself to the hilt in her side. She dropped, screaming, in a swirl of gold and white, twisting on the ground, trying to pull the lethal silver out.

Ice couldn't spare her more than a passing glance. She needed to twist by Lahar, she was counting on her agility and small size to get her past his charge and into the maze. She wasn't counting on the two bullets that plowed into her broadside as she whipped by him. They were ordinary lead, so her body's healing factor automatically compensated, almost instantly repairing the damage they caused, as it pushed the foreign material out. More problematic was that the impact shock quite literally pushed her into Lahar's powerful, raking arms. They both went down in a kicking, clawing, biting ball.

* * *

Reno had stealthily followed the strange woman since she exited the bar. Yes, he was mildly interested in the mystery surrounding the lovely thing. And she had acted a little odd when Rude had startled her, but lets face it the big man could be scary. This isn't what had interested the red head. Reno was thinking more along the lines of finding out where she lived and seeing if she might want to go out with him for a drink or…something. The red head had a radar for circumstances that just might just get him laid, and he KNEW that the mute woman was lonely. Maybe, if he played his cards right, she would be eager for the company of someone she could….converse…. with. Reno had a weakness for beautiful women {or men….he wasn't very particular} and he was hoping to angle an invitation into her bed.

The Turk was a little surprised when she ducked into what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She came back out a short time later dressed in a soft green cloak. The man could not help but notice how it made her long thick, cinnamon colored hair seem all the richer. Reno followed close enough that he occasionally got a glimpse of her sharp planed face and a flash of pale eyes as she stopped at intervals to watch the night time activities around her.

Reno started to get a little concerned, when she turned towards the old city of Midgar. The ruins were dangerous even in the day, and night was falling. Maybe he should intercept her and offer to walk her home? He watched as she turned down a decrepit alley way and decided that being the gallant knight and walking her safely the rest of the way home would score him some points. He hurried his stride, hoping to catch up.

He was working on a pick up line and made it halfway down the alley before what he was seeing... registered. He whipped back against the wall and instead of reaching for his E.M.R., He drew his damned gun. Two monsters were faced off at the end of the street, of the woman he had been following, there was no sign. The smaller of the two creatures was backed up against a wall, its long muzzled head turning one way than the other, evidently trying to find a way past the other much larger beast. That one was stalking forwards with deadly intent written in every line of its heavy shouldered frame. It broke into a charge, head down, a deep roar ripping out of its gaping mouth. The smaller one reared up and the astonished Turk watched as it threw a glittering knife with remarkable accuracy at a THIRD creature blocking the other end of the alley. It hit its mark, because the lighter colored beast fell thrashing into the dirt. That drew the red head's attention to the soft bloodied green cloak balled up on the street. (SHIT!...So much for getting laid) The second monster also charged forwards in what looked like a suicide run. In the last instant it twisted away, evidently trying to make a break for the ruins.

No….that wouldn't do! The Turk had already decided that none of these THINGS was getting out of that alley. He shot the smaller one twice broadside and watched in satisfaction as the bullets put it right into the bigger ones arms. Both of the things went down in a fighting twisting ball of flashing claws and snapping teeth. Reno waited, slouched lazily against the wall. He would let the big one finish off its opponent, then he would kill it. There would be less work for him that way.

* * *

Ice was, as Sergeant would have eloquently put it, in deep shit. She just barely managed to avoid getting her throat torn out, twisting so that her brother's long canines clamped down on her shoulder instead. She snapped at his face trying to get him to let go before he did too much damage. Her hands were busy, desperately keeping his claws away from her chest and stomach, she was NO match for him in strength and he managed to score her deep across the belly. The male was close enough in DNA that her healing factor did NOT treat his claws as foreign; any injury HE caused had the potential of being fatal. She rolled under him using one long toed foot to pull the silver laced knife out of the opposite ankle sheath. Holding it tight in that hand like foot she drove it up hard, into his groin. Lahar screamed and released his hold, jerking himself off of that burning blade.

Ice shot out from underneath him and was up and running. She raced down the alley heading back into the city. Her concern about the populace was forgotten in the need to just get away. The shoulder Lahar had mauled was badly damaged and her stride not nearly as long as it should be. The slower male still had a real chance of catching her.

The female heard several more shots crack out and she swerved to avoid the man who suddenly stepped out from the alley wall. She heard her brother grunt, but knew that like her, the bullets wouldn't even slow him down. With her ears pinned back, Ice could hear his every angry moaning breath as he gained on her. She twisted her long prehensile tail up, as his teeth popped together in a bid to catch it. When she hit the end of the side street she barreled out right into the heavy traffic of Main Street. At the pressure wave of air that hit her, the female acted on pure instinct. She leaped up high and somersaulted, her eyes not leaving the form of her brother as he ran right under the wheels of the passing automobile. She completed her rotation at the top of the leap and as she dropped back down she drew both wrist knives. The vehicle took Lahar down under both sets of wheels but even as it passed, he was trying to get up, broken bones and torn body automatically knitting back together. Ice fell out of the air, landing hard on his massive shoulders. Aided by gravity, she drove both silver blades into the center of his broad skull. They penetrated, piercing through his bone, his brain and then driving through his lower jaw to pin him to the concrete below. Another pressure wave and this time her reaction just wasn't fast enough, her leap cleared the hood but she slammed sideways into the windshield. The startled driver lost control, hopped the curb and stood on the brakes. Ice flew off of the hood through a shop's plate glass window to land with a crash amidst the broken glass.

* * *

Reno charged out of the side street just in time to see the larger of the monsters get run down. To his amazement it regained its feet almost immediately only to be hit from above by the smaller one and the deadly blades it seemed to pull from thin air. The big beast was pinned to the street like a bug. The other wasn't fast enough to avoid being hit itself and when the flying glass and noise had settled it had disappeared through some poor person's shop window. The red head slowly walked out to the dead creature, traffic had come to a complete stand still. Shaking his long red pony tail slowly, he made a phone call.

* * *

Vincent had slipped up to check on how Yuffie was sleeping when his cell rang. Swearing softly he quickly closed her door and flipped his phone open. RENO…..how the hell had RENO gotten his phone number?

He almost didn't answer…but then realized the annoying man would just keep calling until he did. He growled into the phone,

"Reno… you had better erase this number from your phone AND your memory!"

The man on the other end was unusually quiet, then,

"Heya Val….Yo…DON'T hang up! I think I found one of the things that attacked the Yuffie. You need to get down here."

* * *

Ice would have given up any of her few precious possessions for the ability to scream. The female lay on her side in the glass and tried not to move as her body pulled itself back together. Screaming would not have helped the broken ribs and internal injuries caused by the impact to heal any faster, but damn it... it would have made HER feel better. She waited only long enough for the last glass like pain of bones pulling together to pass, then rolled carefully over so she could get to her feet. Her shoulder was still a bleeding mess and the long slashes across her belly and down her sides seeped blood, but her vessel was patched together enough to get the hell out of there. She gave a careful shake, spraying glass and blood in equal amounts, then leaped out of the broken window to land on the hood of the vehicle that had hit her. Ice slid on the bloodied metal as people screamed and scattered. The female found herself face to face with the smaller male from the bar who had understood her hand language. He was still recoiling, bringing his weapon up and around when she snapped long teeth together twice just centimeters from his nose. He ducked and she launched over him. Her leap carried her to the side of the building and she caught herself on the masonry. Using her strong fingers and toes the female scrambled up the wall and over on to the roof. His bullets whipped through her cinnamon mane, causing it to lift in the wind of their passing, but they didn't hit anything solid.

Ice headed for the safety of the ruins. Her system could handle an incredible amount of injury but the energy drain was massive when it had to deal with the kind of damage this night had wrought. It was going to have to shut down to deal with the wounds caused by her siblings. Her body was hurting, still bleeding, totally exhausted, and she needed to get to safety soon to give her depleted resources a chance to recharge. If she put it off much longer, her tired body would take matters out of her hands and just shut down where ever she happened to be. THAT would not be a good thing. Making a quick decision, the female headed UP instead of down. She didn't have the energy left to reach her underground home. She had a better chance of reaching one of her high safe holes. Her heavier, less agile brothers did not like to climb. Even if she didn't quite make it all the way up, she had a better chance of surviving while she couldn't protect herself.

* * *

When Valentine arrived, there was a pretty good crowd gathered. Reno was standing in the street scratching his head, gun held loosely in one hand. That surprised the ex-Turk a little. Reno was not known for using that particular weapon very often. At least the red head had the presence of mind to keep people totally away from the creature pinned to the street.

The Turk's light colored eyes brushed by the approaching gunman, looking back up a side street.

"I think these things got a woman who came into Seventh Heaven earlier."

He shrugged unhappily, and prodded the thing on the ground with the toe of his shoe.

Vincent made no comment. He knelt to get a closer look at the beast. It's frame was huge. He figured, if it stood on its hind legs, it would stand close to seven foot tall. It could easily look over his head. But where he was long and lean, this thing was thick, heavy and powerful. It had broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms that were long in proportion to its body. They ended in almost human looking hands if you disregarded the talons that tipped the blunt thick fingers. A straight wide back supported a heavily arched, long ribcage and a surprisingly narrow waist. The shorter legs ended in feet that looked more like wickedly clawed hands and again they seemed as if the animal was built to move on all fours, but might be able to walk upright. It had a thick based, long flexible tail.

Reno knelt down next to him. His face was thoughtful, not an expression that Valentine had seen very often. He poked the short brown fur on the thing's flank with the muzzle of his gun.

"The scary thing about this is, I put four bullets into it and it didn't even flinch."

Vincent blinked,

"Hnnnn... are you sure you hit it?"

He knew that Reno didn't LIKE to use the gun, but he was a Turk, they didn't usually miss.

The red head snorted,

"YO..." His blue eyes held the gunman's crimson ones and his face was solemn.

"I am no Vincent Valentine... but I DIDN'T miss. I know for a fact that I hit the smaller one twice and all it did was knock it around a little."

"Smaller one...?"

Vincent straightened a little, sharp eyes glancing around.

"UmmmHummm," Reno touched the twin knives that penetrated the beast's head and locked it to the pavement, with a reverent finger,

" It's the one who planted these babies."

Vincent just stared at the Turk,

"RENO...maybe you should tell me the WHOLE damned story."

Reno looked a little sheepish, then grinned,

"Well... It started with me following this woman that came into the bar."

At Vincent's arched eyebrow the red head continued.

"You see... I wanted to get laid..."

The gunman listened to the Turk while he ran his human hand through the thick coarse mane that covered the male's (It's genitalia were definitely male) head, neck, and chest. It started deep brown and faded to a golden tan at the ends. The neck was powerfully built and it's skull was deep and wide. The span between the thin, shell like, pointed ears was much wider than the tall man's hand. The ex-Turk was willing to bet that the brain it protected was large and had been capable of cognitive thought.

It took bracing a knee against the neck and a considerable amount of force to pull the long, heavy blades out of the wound they had created. They had been driven in with remarkable force. Once he had the head unpinned, Valentine realized why Yuffie had called this thing a nightmare. It's muzzle started out broad but narrowed down along its length. For all its narrowness, it was deep to accommodate the animals ivory hardware. The thin lipped mouth was armed with four long dagger like canines and the rest of its teeth were nothing to joke about. Vincent knew that dogs with this type of jaw structure had massive crushing power. It was easy to see how the young ninja's arms had gotten so badly damaged. She had been very lucky... it could have been her throat. The beast had a low, broad forehead, and brows that made it look like it was frowning even in death. It's glazed eyes were a light golden brown.

"And then it ran right up the building..."

Reno's words brought his attention back to the red head.

"What?! It got away?"

Great... the gunman had been hoping that this would be the end of the problem. A flash in the thick mane caught his attention, he ran sensitive fingers along that long thin ear. The tip had been pierced with a thick metal band. His sharp eyes could just pick out the engraved words...Property of Shinra Corp...

He turned it to where Reno could see it and the crimson eyes that watched the red head's face pale, glittered with an angry hot gold.

"Would you care to explain this?"

It came out a growl.

* * *

Yuffie wriggled around on the bed. Damn...she just couldn't get comfortable. She ached EVERYWHERE. The bar was quiet, everybody was probably already asleep. The young ninja pushed the blankets back, she was dying of thirst and the glass at her bedside was empty. Maybe she could make it to the bathroom? She was just swinging her legs

weakly over the edge when her door opened and Cloud's tousled blonde head peeked in.

"YUFFIE! You shouldn't be up"

He hurried into the room and pushed her gently back into the bed.

"If you NEED anything just holler...okay?"

Yuffie let herself flop back down.

"GODS ... Cloud, I just needed a drink."

Cloud tried to cover her back up and she pushed fretfully at the blankets.

"I JUST need a drink! Don't need the blankets, its too damn hot as it is."

Cloud frowned at her, and she couldn't quite stifle her giggle. Cloud's face just wasn't built for frowning. Now Vincent... he could frown. He was the CHAMPION of frowning. Speaking of which, where was her favorite tall, pale and handsome? Before she could ask, Cloud brought her a full glass of water and then being the sweetie that he was, helped her to drink some. He settled her back down, and INSISTED she be under the covers. Fine...she could just kick them back off when he left. Which she did.

Tifa sat up in bed at the look on Cloud's face when he came back to their room.

He ran his hand through his spiky hair.

"I think you should check on Yuffie, she felt awfully warm to me."

* * *

Ice had to stop for a moment and have a brief argument with her body. Yes she told it, I need to rest, but later. Give me just a little more time. It complained ...but allowed it. She was moving up the burnt out skeletal remains of one of the tallest buildings. Her gait had gone from a quick limping trot to a dragging walk, but still she continued up. The female was aware she wasn't going to make it to her safe spot so she was watching for any flat covered place she could curl up on. She came to a gap in the scaffolding and had to back track a short distance so she could make a short run to get the momentum to leap for a platform on the other side of the twenty foot hole. The landing jarred the injured shoulder and she slipped, for a moment the three hundred foot fall beckoned, then her claws bit in and she staggered forwards. Her vision tunneled down and her body would no longer listen to her arguments. For its own sake... it shut her systems down.

* * *

Vincent followed the beast into the ruins. He had left Reno with the warning that, after he had finished this, he was going to find Rufus Shinra and he wanted an explanation. The gunman doubted that he would get a satisfactory one.

The creature was leaving a very clear trail of blood. The ex-Turk didn't understand why it had not bled out by now. When it took to climbing the skeletal remains of the skyscrapers, things got a little more difficult. The man had to let the Galian Beast come forwards a little as he needed it's powerful sense of smell to sniff out the blood trail where the monster had leaped from building to building as it climbed. Valentine needed all of his enhancements to follow the dangerous path that the animal was taking. As it was, dawn was brushing the horizon before he was finished. The man had to move carefully, if he were to fall, Chaos' wings would not be much help. This section was crisscrossed with cables, old rusting pipes and jagged metal.. There was no wing room at all.

The ex-Turk came to a wide gap in the beam he was traveling on, the leap was tricky but he landed easily on the platform on the other side, his red cloak shifting in the light morning breeze. There, in the pale dawn's light he could see the still gold and red form of the other creature. It was huddled very close to the platform's edge. The thing must have finally collapsed and died from its injuries. No... as Vincent cautiously approached the still form, he could see the slow rise and fall of its ribcage. It wasn't dead yet. He drew Cerberus from its holster. This was something he could easily rectify.

A queer movement along the beast's red sides had him holding his fire and he found himself kneeling down to get a closer look. The gunman watched in a rather sick fascination as the gaping wounds in the muscled shoulder and on its lean belly...pulled...themselves slowly closed. Muscle fiber, nerves and veins twisted towards each other, wavering like living things in the cool air. They reconnected, then slowly tightened, knitting the edges of the ugly injuries together. Using the tips of his gleaming claws he parted the fur along the bloody side and wondered why the long slashes there, weren't healing in the same way. Shaking his head…. Shinra's weird wonders would never cease it seemed….he stood back up. Vincent aimed Cerberus at the back of its broad skull and lightly stroked the trigger.

The shot went wild as his left leg was jerked out from underneath him. Valentine landed flat on his back as the creature twisted up astraddle him. It had intelligence, because moving with incredible speed, it first pinned his gun arm with one talon-ed hand and the other trapped his gauntlet against his chest. He could feel the long toes on one hind foot dig into his hip as it used its strong leg to help hold him down. He arched up against it, amazed at its strength then froze as it swung that long muzzle and caught his jaw and neck between sharp, deadly canines. The beast held him there for a long minute, its bite painful but not breaking the skin. Then it opened its mouth ,releasing him. Tilted silver eyes studied his face and he could feel strong hands and feet flexing. Vincent didn't let himself flinch as that long nose swung down again and delicately sniffed at his eyes, along the sides of his face and his mouth. Valentine could see its eyes flash from silver to gray to silver as it flicked clear inner lids across them. It huffed softly to itself, and in one smooth motion released him and launched itself off of the platform. The ex-Turk rolled to the edge and watched it drop, arms spread, legs tucked, prehensile tail {THAT is what had yanked his leg out from under him} acting like a rudder. The creature fell fifty feet and caught a cable in passing with one hand. It used the jerk and its momentum to change direction and fly, cinnamon mane flowing in the wind, another twenty feet to catch a vertical pole in one hand and two feet, spin around it and fly off in a totally different direction.. There was no tracking it with the gun. The beast traveled the three hundred feet down in just seconds and disappeared into the depths of Midgar.

* * *

working hard at getting them back up...as always I love to hear from you!


	3. Chapter 3

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 3

It was mid morning by the time Valentine made it back to Seventh Heaven. He had taken the time to back track to the alley where Reno had said the woman from the bar had disappeared. The ex-Turk found a bloody cloak, and another of the lovely but deadly silver laced daggers. It was a match with the ones that he had removed from the beast s skull earlier. There was a blood trail leading back to the ruins. But, of the woman, there was no sign. Having seen the damage these creatures were capable of causing, the gunman held little hope that she had gotten away. If she hadn't...well...maybe her death had been quick.  
While he was on the way back, Tifa called, asking him to pick up a prescription for Yuffie. She was quick to point out that the Doctors had expected for the ninja to have at least a slight infection, animal bites were after all, inherently dirty, and that the recuperating girl had spiked a pretty good temperature during the night.  
Tifa met him on the stairs. She was carrying a tray back down to the kitchen. Vincent noticed that it was still full, the food practically untouched.  
The woman's wine colored eyes were worried, "I couldn't get her to eat a bite." She gave the gunslinger a hopeful look, "Maybe you could try...?"  
"Hnnn." Valentine deftly took the tray from her and continued on up the stairs. He just about dumped it, when Marlene came barreling out of Yuffie's room, almost running him over on her way down the stairs.  
"Sorry, Uncle Vincent." Her cheerful voice floated back up to him as he let himself into the young woman's room.  
Yuffie was sitting up against her pillows, listlessly picking at the wraps on her arms. Vincent set the tray down, along with the package of meds. He reached over and trapped her hands gently in his. "Don't scratch Yuffie."  
The girl flashed him a miserable look, "Heya Vin..." He could feel her fingers still twitching.  
"The damn things just won't stop ITCHING!"  
The gunman settled in the chair Tifa had left by the bed and let Yuffie have her hands back. He motioned at the eggs, bacon and potatoes on the tray, all the while just LOOKING at her. The young woman squirmed back into the pillows and made an alarming face. "Mmm... not hungry." She sighed and wiggled her fingers, "Besides, It really hurts to hold a fork."  
Vincent's elegant eyebrow arched up and he casually picked up the fork, then scooped up a little bit of egg and potato. Yuffie just stared in horror at him, her mouth open in astonishment. With his enhanced reflexes, it was easy to get the fork in and deposit the food in her mouth before she snapped it shut. A hard, crimson eyed glare promised dire consequences for her if she spit it out. The girl slowly chewed the mouthful and swallowed. The gunman had the next forkful ready before she could refuse.  
Yuffie managed about one third of what was on the tray, then her face paled down to white and she closed her eyes, throat working as she convulsively swallowed. Alarmed...Vincent grabbed the empty trash container by the bed. All he could do was watch and then help support her as she fought and then lost a short battle with her stomach. After she was done losing all of her breakfast and then dry heaving, he helped her lay back down. Studying her pale, sweating face for a moment, the gunman went to the bathroom and rinsed a washrag in cool water. He realized when he returned that tears were slipping from under her closed eyelids and sliding silently down her cheeks. She didn't say a word while he gently wiped her face.  
"Maybe a little weak tea would stay down better hmm?" He quietly suggested. The young woman just nodded.  
The ex-Turk emptied the rest of her breakfast into the trash and took the whole mess downstairs.  
Tifa winced when she saw it. "I am so sorry Vincent." Her face, as she glanced up the stairs was full of concern. "Is she okay?"  
The man poured hot water over a tea bag. "It is common to be nauseous after a head injury...but ..." His voice trailed off. He didn't know how to put into words that the young ninja just didn't seem herself, even with the head injury and fever.  
Tifa took the cup of tea he had made and added a little bit of honey and lemon, she knew that the combination was good for a sick stomach. "That was an awful... bloody... gruesome... killing scene the other night, Vincent. Even by our standards." Her red flecked glance slid his way. "I wonder how much of it Yuffie actually WITNESSED." Tifa shuddered, even with the horrors she had been witness to in Niebelhiem, at least she had not had to watch a friend get EATEN after they had been killed. "Just because she SAYS she doesn't remember much, that doesn't mean she wasn't conscious while it happened."  
Valentine just nodded his understanding of what she was trying to say. They had all tried to get Yuffie to piece the events of that night together for them, but her memory of it SEEMED to be vague at best. The emotional trauma along with the physical was evidently bad enough that she wasn't even willing to TRY to dredge it up out of her memory.  
Yuffie seemed to be asleep when he returned to her room. Valentine carefully set the cup of tea down and settled back into the chair. He would be here when she woke up.

* * *

Ice made it halfway down to what she considered her HOME before her conscience stopped her. The smell of the injured female had been strong on that predatory male. Evidently the girl had been infected a lot worse than Ice had originally thought. The lingering scent that the man had carried told the female that the young woman she had saved was awfully close to the virus's saturation point. The antibodies she had given the girl had not been enough to prevent a "Change"! The female huffed sadly it had been an outside chance at best. If the virus had been that easy to control Shinra would have thought of it a long time ago. Titan had created the problem it was HIS responsibility .this was out of her hands now. Ice dropped her head and slowly moved on.  
The female did okay until she passed the dark hole where Sergeant rested. She just stopped and stood rocking from foot, to hand, to foot in indecision for a minute then with a soft HUFF,(CRAP!} Ice turned around and headed back up and out.

* * *

Valentine was prowling around in his own mind when a soft moan from Yuffie jerked him back to full awareness. He had pulled the blinds in the room so that his companion could sleep easier. In the dim light he saw that her eyes were partially open, but she was not awake. Another soft moan escaped her lips, then,  
"No...no no .please no." This was a soft whimper.  
The man had enough experience with nightmares to know one when he saw it. Yuffie's conscious mind might not want to deal with the trauma, but her subconscious also had something to say about it.  
The gunslinger leaned forwards to wake her and as he did, a stray beam of light flashed across the fingers of his gauntlet. Yuffie's sleep glazed eyes dreamily followed the gleam. Vincent realized that he had an opportunity to get the information that they needed without traumatizing the girl anymore than she was already. He knelt down and rocked his gauntlet slowly back and forth. The shimmering play of light captured Yuffie's sleeping mind and held it. He could tell by her breathing that she was trapped right at the cusp between waking and dreaming.  
"Yuffie ," his words were soft and deep, "Tell me what you see."  
The dreaming girl sighed,  
"Vincent... I'm scared..."  
"I know...you are safe here with me... tell me, what do you see?" Vincent crushed the guilt that tried to rise, they needed to know what had happened.  
Vincent knelt, a captive in his own right as Yuffie told of the first horrendous minutes of the attack. He listened to her fear and pain as she held the thing off of her throat. She evidently did not see the young man get attacked but she was aware and unable to move, when the creature went after the woman. She was crying silent tears as she realized she could not help and could only witness. Vincent listened in rising horror and anger as the young woman described in terrible, clear detail how the black monster had immobilized her friend, tore her throat so she couldn't scream, and then brutally raped her. When it was sated, the thing had finished killing her and made a meal off of her dead flesh. GODS! no wonder Yuffie didn't want to remember this. The young woman became acutely distressed, even in her dream state, when she described the second creature casually breaking the boy s neck. Vincent had to stop when her terror at being approached with a needle threatened to wake her. It took every ounce of Vincent's iron willed control to ease his friend back into a deep sleep, and get out of that room before he lost complete control.  
As the gunman staggered down the stairs, he was locked in a battle for control with Chaos...the demon had ridden his wave of rage right up to the surface and was threatening to escape. He leaned against the bar taking deep breaths, each one accompanied by a rumbling growl. Tifa had started forwards when he came down, but seeing his crimson eyes flashing from red to gold to red. She stayed back, not wanting to distract him. Finally, he managed to push the demon back. He slashed a burning crimson look at Tifa, "Get Cloud...I know what happened to Yuffie the other night."  
It took a couple of hours for Cloud to make it back from his delivery, Vincent refused to tell Tifa a thing. He wanted Cloud there before he revealed the horrifying facts. Once he had himself under a semblance of control, he went back up to the room, gently woke the young ninja and coaxed her into drinking a little tea and broth. He thought that maybe her fever was abating a little. When he heard Cloud's bike, he excused himself and went back down to the bar.  
Reno and Rude wandered in and at Valentine's crooked finger, they joined the small group gathered at one table. Reno's red eyebrows flew up when he saw that all three of them had BIG glasses of whiskey {or brandy in Vincent's case} in front of them. Tifa was visibly upset.  
The two Turks listened to the crimson cloaked man and Reno cleared his throat nervously. Things were getting ready to go from bad to worse.  
"Yo... we aren't here on a social call." He glanced around the table. "How is Yuffie?"  
He cringed at Tifa's hostile look and almost panicked at the growl that came from both Cloud and the gunslinger. Rude slapped him upside the back of his head. The red head put up his hands in defense.  
"Hey... I meant physically. LOOK... you need to see this." He opened his phone. "This was filmed earlier at the labs."  
The Turk turned the phone so they could see it and started a video. There was a technician evidently running some tests. At their puzzled looks, Reno explained, "This is one of the guys that retrieved the dead body of our friend last night. Evidently he cut himself on one of its teeth while they were taking photo's."  
As they watched the guy suddenly staggered, Tifa covered her mouth as the mans body started violently changing shape. He dropped from a bipedal stance to all fours, legs and arms buckling and shifting to accommodate the change. What had been hands became dagger talon-ed weapons. The man screamed as his back and rib cage changed shape becoming more arched and deeper. They unfortunately got a clear view of the man's face elongating into a short wide muzzle, its gaping mouth full of large, sharp slashing teeth. There was NO intelligence left in its black, black eyes as it launched itself, taking down and mauling the person who had been its lab partner. The monster caused and took a huge amount of damage before the security guards were able to put it down!  
Reno closed the phone and spoke softly into the deafening silence. "So... How IS Yuffie?"  
Before any if the stunned group could answer, the door to Seventh Heaven opened. The red head blinked in pleased surprise when the woman he was sure was dead, stepped in out of the late afternoon sun.  
"YO...I thought you were dead!"  
The woman shook her head and made a running motion with her fingers.  
Reno snickered, "Yeah I'm not surprised."  
Tifa drug herself up, mind still not processing what she had just seen. The woman's pale, pale eyes studied her solemnly as she went behind the bar. "Do you want tea again?" The woman gave a slight nod in answer.  
Vincent silently watched the strange woman, Chaos had stirred uneasily along with the Galian Beast the minute she had walked through the door. As she walked past him, on her way to a back table, a shift of her cloak wafted her scent to the gunman.

"BINGO." Chaos coldly rumbled. It was a match for the blood trail that the Galian Beast had tracked into the ruins. Valentine was just starting to uncoil when an inhuman scream echoed through the bar. It originated from upstairs. On it's heels there was the sound of a door being shattered and a pale silver streaked, black maned beast came hurtling down the stairs. Reno and Rude spun, drawing their weapons and Cloud tried to get up. Valentine's gun cleared its holster, but a heavy weight slammed into him pinning him and Cloud against the wall for a minute. The pale eyed woman had thrown the table at them. She flowed across the room and intercepted the beast's leap for the door.

* * *

Ice had known she was screwed the minute she had stepped back into that bar. Not ONLY was the red cloaked predator there, BUT the two males she had met before AND the smaller blond were there also. All of them screamed ALPHA male to her senses. She managed to order her tea and walk calmly to a back table. The girl was here and she was saturated to the point that "Change" was eminent. Ice saw the dangerous one starting to rise just as the "Changing" woman screamed in fear, shock, and pain. Catching the edge of the table with both hands, Ice flipped it at the seated males. Damn it! She did NOT need anyone else getting infected. Ice did not "Change." This was going to be bad enough without having four alpha males down her throat, feeling challenged in their own territory. She hit the changeling broadside and took her down to the floor. Sharp teeth snapped at her face, slicing a deep gash along her cheek. The woman managed to get a forearm up, letting the young one concentrate on it, she would rather deal with a damaged arm than anymore scarring on her already screwed up throat. It took her two tries to get the terrified new one pinned under her. Using her body weight as she ignored the claws digging at her flanks, back and hips, she pressed the thrashing creature down, holding her for a precious minute as she reached for one of her silver daggers .then Ice recoiled in shock as she got a good look at the form struggling under her. THIS was not possible! Somehow the girl had managed a first generation Change a mercy killing was not the only option here! Without thought her hand darted under her cloak and she just managed to get a syringe full of her antibodies out of her pouch and jammed into the heavy muscle under the changeling s jaw. It released her arm and howled at her. A flash of black and crimson, and something grabbed her shoulder, biting deep then jerked, this enabled the changeling to roll her, trapping her underneath its muscled body. Ice fought to keep those teeth off of her and battled her own body's instinct to change to a form that she could better defend herself with. The woman was almost to the point of pulling her last silver laced dagger when she felt the body over hers shudder, than scream as the full pain of Change engulfed it for the second time.

* * *

Vincent and Cloud managed to get the table off of them just as the woman took the beast to the floor. The gunman had Cerberus drawn and aimed, but was stopped as Chaos' hissed, "I WOULDN'T DO THAT. I AM PRETTY SURE THAT... THING... IS YOUR LITTLE FRIEND."  
"WHAT?" The ex-Turk sprang forwards blocking any shot Reno or Rude might make. He saw the flash of the hypodermic and he MOVED. He buried his claws in the woman's shoulder and tried to yank her off of the thrashing THING that used to be Yuffie. All he succeeded in doing, was shifting her weight enough that the beast flipped her over and pinned the stranger to the floor. Valentine froze when it raised its long muzzled head and howled, he could see Yuffie in those terrified eyes and he realized she was AWARE of what was happening. Then they rolled back to white and the ex-Turk's enhanced hearing picked up the hideous sound of bones popping and crunching as the beast form reverted back to that of a naked, unconscious Yuffie Kisaragi. The woman pushed the young ninja's limp body off and scooted back, trying to get her feet under her. Vincent checked that Yuffie was breathing and seemed unharmed, then he gently covered her nakedness with his cloak. As he straightened up, his crimson gaze caught sight of the hypodermic needle. The man remembered Yuffie's whispered words earlier..."Vincent I am scared" and her terror... And the rage he had been controlling for the last few hours just EXPLODED.

* * *

Ice had just managed to get to her feet when she was hit by a savage black and crimson terror armed with gleaming gold claws. She managed to draw her wrist knife and deflect the first two lightening strikes, but his weight bore her back to the floor. She ended up under the man, her knife arm pinned by his hand which was unnaturally strong and his gauntlet's talons wrapped around and in her throat. Her breath was instantly cut off. The trapped woman arched up once against his hold mostly to protest against the pain. Her pale eyes met his hot gold/crimson one. The male s face was a mask of true rage, glowing eyes narrowly slitted, pale lips pulled back to expose strong white teeth in a predator's smiling snarl.  
"OH SHIT! I am so... dead ," she thought. The extreme fear of being pinned by an alpha male...no an ENRAGED alpha male had her right at the edge of Change. Making a supreme effort she forced her body to go limp, and she looked away from those terrifying eyes. At the same time she dropped her eyelids, lifted her throat a little against his cruel grip and turned her head slightly to the side. Her body language screamed...don't hurt me...I am helpless... I submit. Her vision was starting to tunnel. Her body could deal with many things, but her brain needed oxygen to function. Right at this moment, it wasn't getting any.

* * *

Reno watched in total shock as the gunslinger PURPOSELY blocked his and Rude's shot. He was sickly fascinated when the black and silver thing transformed into the sometimes obnoxious young woman they knew as Yuffie. The Turk started to relax a little as the gunslinger checked her over and, taking off his tattered crimson cloak, covered her rather nice, naked body with it. (SHAME on you...you perverted asshole...} He sighed and shook his head. It was pretty bad when HE even considered himself a pervert.  
The quiet man's head came up and the red head got a glimpse of Valentine's face. He involuntarily stepped back as the demon ridden gunman spun and launched himself at the woman who had just staggered off the floor. Reno was amazed when the female's reflexes were fast enough that she actually deflected the first couple of strikes that Vincent made with that lethal gauntlet. The attacks were so fast that they blurred.  
It didn't help her in the end, the ex-Turk had her back, pinned on the floor, his claw buried in her throat, in a couple of heartbeats. Reno froze, he hated to even THINK about taking on the man and what he carried inside, but as he watched, the woman became passive, the one hand he could see slowly making the same sign, over and over...Please...! Still the red head hesitated, Valentine wouldn't kill a helpless woman. Reno watched that slim hand settled slowly to the floor...Would he?  
"SHIT!" he strode forwards and pressed the muzzle of his gun against Vincent's temple. Rude's eyes flew wide behind his shades, but he stepped up and backed his partner.  
Reno hissed.  
"Let her go Valentine." The raven haired head lifted slightly and the low inhuman growl that rose from the man, froze Reno's heart. "Shit Shit Shit!" Then a glimpse of black and Cloud was kneeling down beside his friend, talking in a low tone, trying to pry that golden gauntlet off of the bleeding throat.

* * *

"GO AHEAD...DESTROY IT!" Chaos's voice purred with the pleasure of having a helpless victim to toy with. Vincent tightened his claws, oddly disappointed that the woman wouldn't fight. All he could feel was the rage singing through his veins, being amplified by the ancient, cruel being whispering in his mind. He felt the cold barrel of a gun against his head...no matter... he would deal with that fool...after. Someone wrestled with his locked hand and he recognized Cloud, but the man's soft words didn't reach through the pounding in his head.  
Then, a rumbling voice rolled through and interfered with the oldest of his demons. "The female submits...back off It was the deep voice of the Galian beast. Killing a creature that had willingly submitted was ...wrong... to its animal instincts. The beast/demon pushed hard... disrupting Chaos's control. "BACK OFF... master of mine." Vincent's mind cleared a little, and the pale eyes of his victim drifted back to catch his for a moment. There was no fear in that fading blue, just a calm acceptance. Valentine jerked his hand off of the soft skin and sank back, his breath coming in shuddering gasps. Cloud caught him around the chest and pulled him the rest of the way off as the woman's body jerked and then curled into a ball at the pain of getting a breath down her damaged airway.

* * *

Ice gagged, choking as her throat locked up in a spasm of pain. Then she gagged again as she forced air through it, into her starving lungs. The woman curled into a ball, and just concentrated on keeping her airway from closing off as she struggled to breath. She felt a hand on her back and chose to ignore it as the least of her worries right at the moment. Slowly . The woman pushed herself up until she could sit with her back against the bar and was surprised when the male with the fiery mane helped her. He left as she coughed and swallowed the blood leaking from re-opened scar tissue. Panting, Ice did a quick once over, checking to see what damage other than her abused throat she was dealing with. Her forearm was chewed up and broken, there was blood running from the deep gouges on her sides and back. And her face burned with the fire of a siblings bite. The wounds that the changeling had inflicted were treated by her healing factor as if they had been caused by Titan. CRAP! The only way these were going to heal was to get them coated with her own healing saliva. There was NO way she shutting down to heal anytime soon. A flicker of motion and the man was there again with a glass of water. Oh well, there was no helping it. She met his pale green eyes in a direct stare as a warning, and then Changed.

* * *

Reno watched as the woman struggled for air. He didn't know who sounded worse, her or Valentine as he fought for control. The redhead helped her when she tried to sit up, then left and got a glass of cold water to help soothe the coughing and gagging she was doing. He knelt down to give it to her and the pretty thing glanced up, her pale blue eyes piercing through his. Then her whole body rippled as its structure went from human to animal. Her arms lengthened, became heavier muscled and her slender hands broadened, the fingers becoming shorter and tipped with black talons. The blue eyes, silvered, narrowed and tilted. "Oh... My... GODS!" Reno was backing up as fast as he could as her face pushed out into a long narrow muzzle, and a deep wide skull. The lightly tanned skin seemed to stir in a invisible wind as it was covered in short fine golden fur. The woman's cinnamon hair became a long, thick, rich red mane that extended over head and neck to disappear underneath her shredded cloak. It took a grand total of ten seconds for the transformation to be complete. The red head knew his eyes had to be bugging out. She had a Gods be damned tail!

* * *

Ice watched as ALL of the humans put more distance between them and herself. Several weapons were pointed at her including the odd three holed one of the predatory male. The dark haired bartender grabbed the crimson wrapped form of the girl and dragged her back as well. REALLY...as if she would have gone through all of this trouble to now just jump out and attack them. HARUMPH...She would never understand humans. Ice folded her feet one over the other and wrapped her tail around them to help balance her so that she could use both of her hands. Grasping the broken arm she pulled and twisted, listening for the muffled click as the bones locked back together. Then... patently ignoring everything else, she went about cleaning the deep gashes in it with a firm, warm, soothing tongue.

* * *

Yuffie woke suddenly from a terrible nightmare...and then realized it wasn't one. The red on gold creature from the night of the attack was calmly sitting not ten feet away from her, carefully licking it's arm. Without a sound the ninja launched herself at it, only to get tangled up in a crimson cloak. She staggered and caught herself on the startled animal's thick mane. They were face to face. Yuffie doubled up her fists and pounded on it, as it reared up in surprise. She was sobbing as she pummeled it.  
"Why me, and not him? How dare you kill him! Why did you do this to me?" The distraught girl didn't fight when she was pulled against the creature's surprisingly silky fur and held there, while she cried. She didn't even protest when a warm, soothing, remarkably dry tongue cleaned her face, and then gently licked the tears from her eyes.

* * *

Ice caught the girl's hands with her good one and stared into the distressed face. Pulling the weeping woman in against her warm, broad chest, the were-beast sadly huffed at her and gently did what anyone would do to offer comfort. Using her soothing tongue, she gently cleaned the young woman's face of the running tears, then pushed her back towards her friend Her hands flowed through one simple phrase...I am so... sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 4

Vincent scrambled to his feet when Yuffie flew past him and stumbled into the beast. Her body blocked any shot he might have made, and he could only stare in stunned amazement as the creature took the young ninja's blows without retaliating. Of course...it had to be smart enough to figure out that if it hurt the girl, it would not make it out of the bar in one piece. The concern that Yuffie might get hurt was literally blown away, when the beast gathered her up close, and holding her gently against its strong body, it thoroughly cleaned her tear streaked face. The man had to re-adjust his thinking on the animal's intelligence when it turned the young woman and gave her a slight push back towards her shocked friends. The gunman clearly understood the hand signs the creature made. ..I am so sorry...

Valentine stepped forwards and pulled Yuffie in, helping her to stand and holding her close against his chest. He could feel her shaking.

"What the HELL, Vinny..." was all she said as she rested her forehead against him. He glanced at Tifa and motioned towards the upstairs with his head.

Yuffie jerked back,

"DON'T you dare, I want to know what the fuck is going on and SHE has all of the answers."

Vincent pulled her back close,

"Don't you think this would be a little easier if you had some clothes on?"

This was whispered in her ear. He felt her stiffen in surprise.

"Fine..." she whispered back, "but ONLY because Reno is here."

The ex-Turk studied the creature as it finished working on its forearm and, slipping out of the shredded cloak, it transferred its attention to the long gouges running down its bloodied golden sides. He very much wanted to take the young woman back upstairs but was hesitant to leave the bar. Reno, Rude, and Cloud MIGHT be able to stop the beast if it tried to leave. But Valentine knew that it would NOT get by him.

Crimson eyes flew wide when it looked up at him in exasperation, swallowed a mouthful of its own blood, gagged a little, and then the hands fluidly signed,

"Go with your mate...I am not leaving."

* * *

Ice was not surprised when it was the golden clawed male who took possession of the girl. Alphas had an insatiable need to protect and possess their chosen mates. She could tell he was being torn by both instincts. The man's indecision about staying or going exasperated the female and she finally stopped her first aid, (she had to clear her throat anyways, getting anything...including her own blood and saliva down the ravaged thing was still making her gag and cough) and signed that he could go, she would stay put. (for a while, anyways.) The female could tell by the stunned widening of those odd colored eyes that the male clearly understood her. Two of her precious silver laced knives appeared in his hands and he handed them to the sky eyed, yellow maned male. (And how DID he get that mane to stand up all spiky like that?) CRAP! Evidently the hunter/killer had realized their significance. Lifting the crimson wrapped woman easily, he took her back up the stairs.

Ice finished her other side and gave herself a quick shake, she could feel all but the silver tainted wounds slowly closing up. The female looked up to find three sets of eyes staring at her. Feeling very self conscious, she licked the blood off of her lips and swallowed hard without thinking. That triggered another coughing and gagging spasm. DAMN! If she thought she could get away with it, she would kick the red eyed male's rather attractive (Even if it WAS tailless) ASS for adding to and aggravating the old injury.

The fiery maned male edged forwards and placed the glass of water that had been forgotten in his hand on the floor between them. He remained crouched with his weapon in his hand and studied her with eyes almost as pale as hers as she approached and picked up the glass. He seemed surprised that she could drink from one, but her lips and tongue in this form were as mobile as when she shifted to human. Ever since Sergeant had saved her, she had preferred to drink from a vessel of some kind. You never knew what kind of creepy crawly might end up in your mouth if you lapped your water up like an animal.

The cool liquid helped soothe the painful spasms and in relief she signed,

"Thank you."

* * *

Yuffie had to admit that being carried by Vincent could become a really bad addiction. The gunslinger's arms were strong, and she could feel the muscles in his chest flexing as he carried her for the second time in as many days, up the stairs. For all of his enhanced strength he was incredibly gentle, even with that lethal looking claw and... OH ...MY... GODS...there was blood on it.

The ex-Turk stopped at the top of the stairs,

"Are you okay Yuffie?"

The girl gave a short laugh that almost sounded like a sob.

"Oh I am just peachy keen Vince. Just cause I could turn into a slavering beast from hell at any minute...I mean... what do ya think...Why wouldn't I be fine?

Oh great... Yuffie couldn't BELIEVE she had just said that to Vincent, loaded up the ASS with no less than four killer demons, Valentine.

"Hnnnnn...Yuffie, I am pretty sure you weren't slavering."

Vincent could not have sounded more serious. (Which is saying something because the gunslinger ALWAYS sounded as if the world were coming to an end.) The ninja just about had a heart attack...Did she just hear the man with no sense of humor attempt a joke? GODS... things must really be bad if he were doing that just to cheer her up. She looked up and caught a slight quirk on his pale lips. Taking advantage of the situation the young woman surreptitiously snuggled into him, enjoying his unique smell of warm skin, gunpowder…and… what ever was that wonderful cologne he was wearing? Striding into her room, The ex-Turk carefully set her down and turned his back on her.

The ninja giggled, for all of his life experiences, Vincent Valentine was such a prude.

"Umm... whacha doing Vin?"

The gunman gave a long suffering sigh.

"I am WAITING for you to get dressed Yuffie, so we can go back down stairs."

"Oh... I was just wondering." It was probably a good thing that the gunman couldn't see the cat that got the canary grin on the young woman's face. Yuffie quickly shed his warm cloak (but not without burying her nose in it for one more whiff of HIM) Then she dug out an outfit with lots of buttons. Getting everything pulled on, she cleared her throat.

"Hey Vin... I can't seem to get my sore, stiff fingers to get this buttoned. Could you give me a quick hand?"

She kept her face deadly innocent. The ex-Turk turned and froze like a chocobo caught in a spotlight as he saw her lacy bra and soft underwear exposed by the open clothes.

"Yuffie..." he growled.

She smiled at him and wiggled her bandaged fingers.

"Really Vin... I am not jerking ya around."

The smile slipped a little when in one long stride he was in front of her. The raven haired ex-Turk started buttoning her shirt from the bottom up. Yuffie could not control her slight twitch when his fingers and his claws lightly brushed the soft skin over firm muscle of her stomach. Vincent's pale features were totally still as a warm knuckle brushed her breast on the last button, but when she glanced up at him, his eyes were like two smoldering carnelian coals. Slipping his hands smoothly down, he caught the flaps of her shorts and tugged her hips closer to him. Those wonderfully strong, slender fingers slipped under then tickled along her waistband, making her swallow against a suddenly dry mouth, before he closed that button. His eyes never left her face while those agile fingers dipped, snagged the zipper and slowly zipped it up. Yuffie wavered on legs gone suddenly weak.

Vincent caught her by the shoulders to steady her, concern replacing the heat that had been evident in his crimson eyes. (Damn... traitorous legs.)

"Are you sure you are feeling up to this Yuffie?"

His voice was not as smooth and much deeper than the norm. Unfortunately, the young ninja just KNEW he was talking about going downstairs to find out more about what was going on, and not the scenario that had played through her head for a brief minute.

She smiled sweetly at the poor man.

"Actually Vinny," The girl savored the little wince that escaped the man's control at that particular nickname. "Since I warped into that weird beastie, I actually feel a lot better."

Yuffie grinned wickedly at him as she slipped by and headed for the door.

"Even my hands, arms and FINGERS are feeling GREAT!"

The sound of his growled "Yuffie!" was sweet music to her ears as she headed back down the stairs.

* * *

Vincent just stood for a moment, his eyes not leaving where Yuffie had last been. He was so screwed. The little vixen was going to be a force to be reckoned with. Just when had she changed from being almost a child to being a woman who KNEW how to stoke a man's desire? The man was aware that the young woman was not hesitant when it came to going after something she wanted. But the fact that she was coming after him had the gunslinger really concerned. And WHY had his body reacted with such abandon? He did NOT have feelings for Yuffie Kisaragi ...did he? Vincent's hands clenched and unclenched as he worked to get himself back under his usual cold, emotionless control. What the HELL had he been doing? He knew better then to allow that kind of desire to roll through him. Between the rage from earlier and the woman's DEVIOUS igniting of his passion, his ability to control the creatures he hosted was seriously compromised.

He could feel the Galian beast pushing up in response to his heated feelings and what worried him more was when the more powerful Chaos growled

"COME ON! WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING HERE FOR, FOOL. GO AFTER THE WENCH AND LET US GIVE HER WHAT SHE WANTS."

The gravelly voice deepened to an evil, lustful purr.

"I REALLY THINK THAT YOU AND I SHOULD...DO...HER. AND NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER, IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT. AFTER ALL... AGE COMES BEFORE BEAUTY."

The dark chuckle that followed was sinister.

Chaos was close enough in human physiology that the ex-Turk had no doubt that the demon was very capable of raping a weaker being if he was given the chance. Valentine's stomach lurched at the thought of Yuffie trapped in the dark demon's depraved clutches. He knew she would have no chance of escape. Keeping that horrendous vision firmly in his head, he had no problem purging the residue of passion that was left out of his mind and body. Before he followed the young woman back downstairs, he returned his cloak to its customary place on his shoulders and scooped an item off of the night stand by the bed. As he descended the stairs, it was with the beginnings of a plan forming in his now calm and collected mind.

* * *

Ice sat quietly, sipped her water and just observed. She did not fail to notice that the spiky maned male moved closer to her with those lethal silver blades held loosely in his hands. Watching him test their balance and nod appreciatively to himself, she had a feeling he knew how to use them. The flame haired one was between her and the window, the big dark male shifted to where he could move to block the door if need be. So far, other than the surprise attack from the golden clawed male (which she could understand) these had NOT reacted as Sergeant had trained her to expect. They had not attacked her immediately out of fear, and seemed to be using the brains that humans always bragged about having, but rarely seemed to use when the unexpected popped out at them. Elegant ears twitched as she picked up sounds from the back room where the other female had disappeared to. And they rotated fully around when they caught the sounds of someone coming down the stairs.

* * *

Reno couldn't help but stare, as the beast sat quietly and just watched. It almost behaved as if it was human, watching them with just as much curiosity in its tilted silver eyes, as he was sure was in his own. Reno caught the glint of metal at the tip of one mobile ear as they turned, tracking Tifa in the kitchen. He knew he was looking at one of his late employer's genetic experiments. Reno had done many questionable, even horrible things in his career that he had been ordered to do and had always been able to put them out of his mind. He had known of the human experimentation that was being conducted by Shinra, but had never let it bother him. This was not as easy to disregard. Even Valentine, as badly as Hojo had screwed him over, was still, in essence, a human being. His demons were separate entities that, when they manifested, were definitely something different than the man that hosted them. The Turk shifted uneasily, trying to come to grips with the fact that the animal sitting there, quietly waiting, was one and the same as the beautiful woman he had followed with the intention of bedding. She had been very easy on the eyes. If he had passed her on the street he would not have known there was anything "different" about her. The red head usually didn't care to worry about things, but he couldn't help but wonder how many more of these monsters were just wandering around amongst them. GODS! They already had proof that at least one of them had a taste(in more ways than one) for human flesh. The beast's silver eyes left him as the long muzzled head turned to watch Yuffie come back down the stairs. Reno felt some relief. Yes, the girl was as annoying as hell, but he was glad to see that, at least for the moment she seemed okay.

* * *

The silver eyes watched the youngling come down the stairs, the wave of pheromones coming off of her caused the female to wrinkle her nose. The male followed shortly and as he went to join the woman in the kitchen, Ice couldn't keep her ears from flattening, the skin around her eyes and her lips relaxed, she huffed softly. It was as close as she could come to a laugh when in this form. The scent coming off of the man was even stronger in sex pheromones than that of the girl. The female glanced slyly at the young woman's slightly flushed face, she was pretty sure that the young female, like herself, was untouched when it came to sex. Ice wondered why the alpha male had not claimed her yet, it was VERY evident that he wanted to.

The man returned and studied everyone in the room, then he strode over to the large table they had all been sitting at when she arrived. He pulled another chair over and made a quick motion with his hand, in invitation for her to sit. Ice watched him closely for a moment, she had seen just how fast he could move and had it proven just how dangerous to her health he could be. Ice wasn't sure she wanted to be any closer to the male than what she was already. The fact that she could see very little of his face did not ease her mind any. She hovered in indecision for a moment then was surprised when the young woman sat down on one side of the chair reserved for her and the red headed male took the other. With them there as a buffer, she cautiously approached and hopped up, to sit gingerly at the table.

* * *

Vincent watched in amazement as the beast jumped into the chair he had offered and sat in it much like a person would. She primly folded her hands in front of her. The illusion of humanity was ruined though when her tail, which seemingly had a mind of its own, slipped up and occasionally stroked along the table cloth before disappearing back under the table. The ex-Turk had to suppress a slight smile as Reno's red eyebrows did an unconscious dance every time that happened. Valentine waited until Tifa came out of the kitchen carrying a tray loaded with cups and the makings for tea, then he seated himself as Cloud joined them. Rude stayed at his post in front of the door.

The gunman gestured at the young woman who was seated next to the silver eyed female. (MUCH to Vincent's displeasure, she was way to close to the creature for HIS comfort)

"Yuffie, you have already met. I am sure she would like to know if you have a name."

Yuffie flashed a quick, hard look at the man. She would prefer to speak for herself, but this time she held her tongue. The silver eyes flashed to gray as the creature blinked her inner eyelids.

Her hands flowed through the simple phrase,

"_Sergeant called me... Ice._"

The female glanced at the red head next to her curiously. The tail appeared, slid along the tabletop and softly brushed the back of his hand. He snatched that hand back as if it had been burned.

The man stuttered out.

"Yo... everyone calls me Reno."

The female's ear twitched as Yuffie murmured. "Amongst other things."

Vincent ducked his head a little as Reno just glared at her. Keeping her tail to herself, Ice glanced at each person in turn and waited politely for them to give her their names. First Cloud, then Tifa and Rude self consciously introduced themselves and watched in amazement as Ice translated each name to a sign as if fixing them in her mind. When that disconcerting direct silver gaze met his crimson one, Vincent understood why the others had seemed uncomfortable, it felt really...odd... to be politely introducing oneself to what looked like an animal.

Clearing his throat, he overrode his discomfort,

"I... am Vincent Valentine. We were hoping that maybe you could answer some questions for us?"

Those tilted eyes slid away from his but she signed,

"_I will answer what I can._"

Yuffie jumped in before Vincent could continue. She felt she had the right to get some of her questions out of the way before the ex-Turk got too carried away with his. Ignoring his barely concealed sigh of exasperation, she pinned the female next to her with a hard glare. And was startled when Ice immediately looked away in discomfort.

"Why did you kill Dex and not me?"

The silver eyes returned to meet her own squarely and the female's hands moved through a complex dance. Yuffie glanced at Vincent in exasperation but was startled when it was Reno who translated.

" She says, _that the young male was too badly infected by the time she arrived for her antibodies to do him any good, so she had to...," _the red head's voice faltered here,"... _euthanize him_."

Yuffie felt Ice physically cringe when all six sets of eyes pinned her with hard angry stares. Her hands flashed through the next statement so fast they were difficult to follow. This time it was Vincent that spoke,

"_He was already dead, his body just didn't know it yet, and if left to finish the "Change" he could have infected many more before his body gave out_."

Yuffie shifted away from the creature, her eyes had gotten huge.

"WHAT! Am I going to die?"

Ice froze, anger and fear were rolling off of everyone in the room. ALL of the potentially dangerous Alpha males were staring hard, in ANGER, at her and her instincts overrode her intelligence for a moment. She dropped her eyes, tucked her head and pulled her hands up against her cinnamon maned chest trying to make herself appear smaller. Her tail coiled tight around a leg. She felt the red headed male next to her jerk and he snarled a curse. The female didn't even dare to breath. It was the dark haired, quiet woman who came to her rescue.

Tifa nudged Cloud hard,

"Stop it. Can't you see you are scaring her to death."

She also poked Vincent and glared at Reno. Then glancing at Ice she slowly and quietly poured everyone some tea.

She kept her voice low and soft,

"If I remember correctly, you like yours with honey and lemon?"

She almost smiled when the silver eyes flashed up and then looked away as Ice gave an almost imperceptible nod. Tifa remembered reading somewhere that some animals misunderstood a smile as a threat, so she kept her face very still. As she fixed the creature's tea exactly as Vincent had instructed her, Tifa hoped that the ex-Turk had gotten his calculations right. She didn't want to be the one responsible if this backfired. She got some odd looks from everyone but Vincent as she gave all but Rude a steaming cup, but they all went along with it. As their attention shifted to Tifa, she noticed that Ice gradually relaxed. Reno leaned over slightly and spoke to her in a quiet voice and the creature twitched, looked down, and gave the man an apologetic, flat eared look. Her tail appeared back on the table and she trapped it under one hand for a minute.

Vincent sipped the tea that Tifa had given him and waited for Ice to relax enough that she was willing to look at everyone again. He was secretly pleased when the beast sipped at the tea and seemed to find nothing amiss. Good, maybe she would drink all of it. That would certainly make things easier.

He waited until she swallowed her mouthful and set the cup down.

"Is Yuffie's life at risk?"

He translated her answer for the rest.

"_No... I had hoped that my antibodies were given soon enough that they would cure the virus. Evidently I...was wrong. She will not die, but she WILL continue to change as the virus overcomes my antibodies and reaches saturation. Her body does not have the ability to produce her own defenses against the Change" _

Well, talk about taking the good news with the bad. The ex-Turk did not say this out loud, and he hoped he kept his distress from showing. Ice must have picked up on some of it because her expressive ears flattened and she looked away from his face and concentrated on drinking her tea.

"Is your...miscalculation... the reason that Yuffie Changed into something different than the lab tech?"

Valentine worked hard to keep the words soft and non-threatening. The silver eyes blinked at him and the look on the long face was most definitely bewildered. Reno flipped his phone open, and leaning towards her, ran the video that he had shown them earlier. Ice's ears flattened so much they disappeared into her mane. Somehow, she flattened the mane too, sleeking her outline. That, the color change from silver to gray in her eyes and a soft huff that blew out her cheeks and fluttered the thin lips, all translated into severe unhappiness.

She flashed a confused glance at the gunman,

"_He was bitten_?"

"No… he was careless. He managed to cut himself on the teeth of the male you killed."

The beast blinked, and her flexible hands answered his earlier question.

"_I do not know why the youngling did not experience a second generation Change. Shinra never managed….._" The female seemed to catch herself then she nodded at Yuffie, who was definitely looking freaked out, "_I think she will experience a first generation Change every time now. Even so...SHE MUST NOT BITE OR LICK ANYONE while she is in this form. The other... unfortunate... one went through a second generation Change. The virus would have eventually killed him but he would have bitten and infected as many as he could before that happened. He did NOT bite anyone... did he_?"

Reno shook his head and closed his phone as all the eyes at the table turned to him.

"The three people that got bit all died from their injuries. I am pretty sure Rufus ordered that extra precautions be taken where the corpses are concerned."

He felt the Ice's tail brush his leg and jerk away. At least this time it didn't wrap around it like a damned serpent. The long, thin thing was surprisingly strong. The red head found himself wondering just what one could do with... His mind shied away from the thought when he realized were it was going. DAMN! Everyone was right. He was SUCH a pervert. He noticed the creature's broad nostrils twitch in his direction and her ears rose a little as she sipped at her tea.

* * *

Yuffie was barely controlling the panic that was spreading through her. She was going to keep changing into the THING that she had become before. What if Ice just disappeared or something? Without the creature's injections, would she, the White Rose of Wutai turn into a beast and STAY that way? That is what it sounded like to her. The young woman glanced at Vincent, taking some small comfort in the fact that the gunslinger seemed to be relaxed. He glanced her way, catching her eyes in his own red gaze. He gave a slight shake of his head and a small smile of encouragement. Yuffie felt the tight band of fear ease a little. The man looked as if he had things under control. He would make sure this turned out all right.

* * *

Ice couldn't control her noses twitch as she caught the smell of randiness coming from the flame maned male. (Reno... amongst other things, she reminded herself) Her ears twitched up and she had to hide her expression in her cup as she wondered what the "other" things were. Did these males NEVER get any? She found that hard to believe when all of them exhibited such dominant traits. The subordinate males, like Titan, were the ones who suffered without. That is what made them so damned unstable. Her tea was almost gone and Ice, who had a terrible sweet tooth that she NEVER got to indulge, ran her strong, broad tongue over the bottom of the cup, licking up the honey that had not dissolved. This cup had been a little more bitter than the first cup she had been served here, but Tifa had compensated, much to the females delight, by adding more honey.

She glanced up as Vincent cleared his throat(Now why did he look so pleased) and asked,

"Can this ...virus... be cured?"

Ice gave a noncommittal shrug,

"_I don't know._"

The female watched those odd colored eyes narrow a little with a sudden feeling of unease.

The crimson cloaked male tapped his gleaming deadly claws in a restless tattoo on the table top.

"What are you?"

She answered him honestly,

"_Other than a …failed...experiment, I don't know_"

Ice was being honest, she did not know how to lie. She could remember very little of her life before waking up, damaged, in Sergeant's not so gentle care. He had not felt it important to inform her of her shadowed origins. The most he had ever told her was that She and her siblings were failures as ...specimens... and evidently there had been a lot of people who had not been very happy about it.

Cloud leaned forwards a little, he had remained quiet and just watched as Vincent did most of the questioning.

"Vincent...as much as I hate to admit it, we are going to have to get Ice to Rufus's labs to get a handle on this."

The swordsman realized when he saw the gunman wince that the man was very aware of this fact. When he glanced at the creature he realized why the ex-Turk hadn't mentioned it before. Ice had become very still, her silver eyes were narrowed and those thin lips were pulled back to partially expose very LONG... sharp... canines. Her hands rippled through one short motion and the fact that she slowly shook her head made it very clear that she was saying, "NO!" in no uncertain terms. She started to push back from the table.

Vincent made a gentle, placating gesture with both hands.

"It's okay Ice, we won't take you anywhere that you are unwilling to go."

The words were soft and steady, and the silver eyed female studied the man for a very long moment.

Valentine met Ice's frightened stare evenly, forcing himself to stay relaxed. He only needed to keep the creature still and in the bar for a little while longer. There... the ex-Turk saw the inner eyelids flick across, dimming the silver and then not totally withdraw back behind her outer lids. He hadn't been sure if Yuffie's pain killers would work on the female, but considering their potency, he had been relatively sure that a four or five of them, crushed for fast absorption, would do the trick. He only hoped he hadn't overdosed the thing, they needed it alive.

* * *

Ice held her position for a moment, she almost believed the crimson cloaked male. Then a wave of dizziness rolled through her. All of a sudden she remembered a lesson that someone had taught her BEFORE she had been subjected to...euthanasia. Human beings were VERY capable of lying. Bringing her feet up to the edge of the table, she pushed hard and somersaulted over the back of her chair. As she landed, another wave of sick dizziness made her stagger. She didn't hesitate as she shot for the door. Rude moved to intercept her. Ice gaped at him and increased her speed as much as she could, a heavy weight was pressing her down. Still she managed to launch herself at him, only to get hit from the side, as the flame haired male (Reno ...amongst other things...she sluggishly reminded herself.) tackled her before she could reach his partner with lethal teeth. Ice tried once to regain her feet but just couldn't get any of her musculature to cooperate. She managed to blink as the crimson cloaked one tightly looped and buckled leather over her mouth, effectively muzzling her. She could feel her hands and feet being restrained in the same manner by the others and her mind screamed in fear...NO!NO!... at them until darkness descended and all consciousness left.


	5. Chapter 5

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 5

Yuffie was caught flat footed by Ice's attempt to escape. And she was even more stunned by the speed with which Reno tackled the creature before she could do any harm to Rude. Vincent must have been expecting something because he was right behind the Turk, one of his belt's off and ready in his hands. Cloud followed, and the young ninja saw Tifa wince as Reno and Vincent pinned the smaller female, muzzled her and trussed her twitching hands. Cloud got her weird looking hand- like feet.

The young ninja was shocked. This was not how she had expected the ex-Turk to deal with the situation. Vincent had a screaming horror of labs and scientists. Yuffie could not imagine him forcing ANYONE to be subjected to them.

She started forwards to put a stop to it,

"VINCENT..."

A slashing look from his unhappy crimson eyes and a hand from Tifa on her arm stopped her. The young woman knew that Ice was probably the only chance of finding a source for a cure, and her friends were just doing what they thought was in her best interests. She watched Reno roll off of the now quiet female and held her breath as Vincent searched for a heartbeat on the heavily drugged beast.

Reno rolled off and growled at the gunman,

"GODS...Valentine...next time a little warning would be appreciated."

The ex-Turk didn't answer him, he had his human hand buried in the cinnamon mane trying to find the female's pulse. His fingertips found her throat and he twitched them back at the ridged and misshapen cartilage and scars they brushed. He could feel NOTHING through the thickened flesh there so he ran his hand down her side, until he could feel the very slow beat of her heart. The strong, arched ribcage rose and fell shallowly under his hand. He carefully checked the leather belts that bound her hands, feet and mouth. With her having finished the entire five pill dose that Tifa had slipped into the tea, he was confident that she would be unconscious until and after they reached Rufus's labs. He was more concerned that she continue breathing until they got there. That dosage was probably hefty enough to take Chaos out.

The demon snorted, "I WOULDN'T COUNT ON IT VALENTINE."

The gunman ignored his "guest" and he stayed down on one knee, his hand on Ice's side, monitoring her breathing.

"Reno, where do you have your copter stashed?"

The red head's eyebrows did a quick shocked dance.

"YO... you are REALLY going to turn her over to Rufus and his labs?"

The Turk made a huge show of looking around,

"OKAY...Just where have you hidden the real Vincent Valentine?"

The man in crimson winced and pinned Reno with a hard, ugly red glare. His words were a deep growl

"Shut up asshole...and just get us to your ride."

As they jogged to where the red head had parked his machine (the two Turks really HAD been there on business, with orders to bring Yuffie into the labs, one way or the other) Cloud stayed by Vincent's side.

The swordsman's face was troubled and pale,

"Vincent… I don't know if I can do this."

The gunman didn't answer, he wasn't sure that HE could do it.

Chaos chuckled darkly,

"OH COME ON _VINNY_. IT IS...JUST...AN ANIMAL. THINK OF HER AS A VERY LARGE LAB RAT. BETTER YET...A LAB MONKEY ...HEHEHE. OF COURSE...COME TO THINK OF IT...YOU...WERE JUST A LAB RAT ONCE TOO ...WEREN'T YOU?"

Vincent pulled up short, all of a sudden feeling violently ill. He saw Yuffie glance back and slow down, forcing him to remember what was at stake here. Shifting the limp burden in his arms, he started forwards towards the copter that was waiting in the gathering dusk, he silently snarled

"Gods...Chaos, I really hate you."

"UMMHUMM...BELIEVE ME, THE FEELING IS MUTUAL. AND VALENTINE...FOR YOU...THERE ARE NO GODS."

* * *

Reno bailed into the cockpit, he could not believe his and Rude's good luck. They had fully expected a battle to get Yuffie to the help she needed. The two men who were her close friends had a real aversion to anything related to Shinra. Not only had Yuffie agreed to come, but they had the bonus of a living specimen. He cringed a little at that particular thought.. The red head hurried through the complex machine's start up protocol as Cloud and Yuffie strapped into the cabin's passenger seats. He wanted to get this baby up and in the air before somebody changed their mind.

Valentine laid the barely breathing body of Ice on the floor between the seats and settled where he could easily reach her. Rude joined Reno up front and gave him the go ahead. With the thump of spinning rotors and the whine of straining engines, Reno lifted the copter into the darkening evening sky.

* * *

Maybe it was the terrible sense of betrayal that she had felt as the drug took her under. Or… maybe it was just the feeling of overwhelming helplessness as she had been forcibly muzzled and trussed, but Ice found herself trapped, dreaming of the day where her memories both fragmented, and started.

_Her siblings and herself had been transported from the labs to another place, _the heavy thumping of an aircraft's rotors penetrated her sleep and blended with the dream, making it all the more real. _They had all been excited, the young males in particular were hard to control, they rarely got to leave the confines of the place they had been born and raised. Sergeant had to be rough with his discipline more than once. Only his position as Alpha keeping all in line.._

_Ice had sat quietly the whole ride, ignoring their noise and jostling, captivated by the blue sky outside the window, and the multicolored patch-worked land they flew over._

_When they had arrived at their destination, they had been turned loose in a large room surrounded by floor to ceiling mirrored windows. All of the males were worked up, they had been pitted against humans and beasts alike many times. With their ability to heal almost any injury instantly, even as youngsters, they never lost. The whole litter knew the routine leading up to a fight._

_The beast that they had been pitted against had been tough but no more so than any other they had fought. In her dream, her sisters and her harried the beast making it turn one way or the other while the larger males engaged it, tearing long slashes with fang and claw until finally weak with blood loss, it had collapsed and Steel had moved in for the kill._

Ice's anxiety and fear built as she tried to pull herself out of the dream. _She heard orders given and Sergeant's angry arguments. He had finally removed all but Titan, Steel, and herself from the room. Evidently one of their masters did not trust the pack mentality and wanted to know which way her siblings loyalties would run. They needn't have worried. All of them had been rigorously trained to follow orders. Her brothers hadn't even hesitated when given the order to attack their sister. Ice had done her best, but was no match for the two males. In no time she had been savaged, rolled, and pinned on her back, Steel's long canines locked in her defenseless throat. The female had gone limp, trusting in instinct that the alpha male would release an omega female who submitted. Steel's pale green eyes had looked towards their master and on his orders, the big gray male had crushed and slashed through her throat, breaking her neck as he finished his kill. _In her dreams_, the burning of his saliva, the crack of breaking bone and the tearing pain of his fangs were as real as the day it happened._

_Her brothers had walked away, leaving her gagging, drowning in her own blood as her body's healing factor could not deal with this devastating an injury, delivered by a sibling, quickly. She lay on that bloodied floor and fought to breath for what seemed like forever. Sergeant had removed Titan and Steel, then had returned for her. She had felt immense relief as her Alpha had checked the extent of the injury and gently patted the top of her head. She relaxed as best she could... he would make this okay. Then the man had moved around behind her. Ice heard the distinct sound of a round being chambered. Sergeant had substituted a lead bullet for the lethal silver, but it still did a remarkably good job of scrambling her brains. All the suffering female had felt was the heavy thump of the impact as it penetrated her skull and then nothing for a very, very long time._

* * *

Yuffie winced as they took off. Damn, she HATED flying. Her stomach immediately started protesting. She closed her eyes and managed to control it with breathing exercises for a few minutes. Then couldn't stop herself from retching.

Reno must of heard her,

"HEY... no puking in MY copter! DAMN IT! You lose it, YOU get to clean it up!"

She managed to stick a finger up in that universal sign that EVERYONE understood where he could see it through the open door leading to the cockpit.

Reno looked back over his shoulder and with a wicked smile he banked the machine over,

"YO…This is your Captain speaking, we are currently maintaining at the altitude of eight hundred feet, our cruising speed is one hundred miles per hour. If you look DOWN and to the left you will see that we are FLYING over the picturesque ruins of Midgar."

He banked the other way, slowing and circling the copter, making it rock.

"And on the right, we have some more of the same, hehehe."

Yuffie groaned, when they landed, she was going to KILL the red headed Fucker! A firm hand on her shoulder and the young woman opened miserable eyes to Cloud's concerned brilliant blue ones. He handed her a plastic bag. She managed a weak smile before gagging and burying her face in it. It was a very good thing that there was really nothing in her stomach to bring up.

* * *

As Ice tore herself out of her nightmare and rose to awareness, she was greeted by a head ache every bit as bad as the one she had woken up with after her...faked... euthanasia. The whump, whump of the copter's spinning rotors made thinking pure torture. Her healing factor was dealing with whatever they had slipped her, dumping it out of her system as fast as possible. The female very much wanted to throw up, but knew that with her mouth locked shut, that would be a mistake. Drowning in one's own vomit was NOT the most pleasant way to die. Her long ears twitched. From the sounds and smell of it, she wasn't the only one hit with the sudden need to empty her stomach.

The red headed male's (Reno...she was beginning to guess what his OTHER names might be) voice reached her and she had to concentrate on staying limp as he mentioned that they were flying over the ruins. She slitted one silver eye open, assessing her situation. The first thing she saw was Yuffie retching into a plastic bag. Both males had their attention on her. GOOD, doing her best to ignore her pounding head, Ice concentrated on her hands. She triggered a Change but slowed it to a crawl and confined it to her hands, wrists and forearms. This little trick was very hard to accomplish as it was incredibly painful, but it served the purpose of slimming those appendages considerably. While this was happening she studied the door of the aircraft that she was facing. If she remembered right (and her memories WERE questionable) the large window situated on each door was an escape exit. She fixed the position of the release latch and the small handles on each side, firmly in her mind. Her tail was dexterous, but unfortunately, it could not SEE.

Yuffie stopped retching, took her face out of the bag and looked directly into Ice's open eyes.

"HOLY SHIT...Vincent we have a problem!"

"CRAP!" Ice uncoiled, slipping the leather belt off of her now slender wrists. She pushed hard away from the wall with her bound hind feet at the same time that wonderful tail whipped up, jerked down on the latch and threaded itself through the handles all in one fluid motion. As she hit the opposite door she pulled the escape hatch open and promptly dropped the heavy thing on the crimson cloaked male as she passed over him. The sensitive aircraft rocked violently with the sudden weight shift. The female used her momentum, storing the energy, then releasing it, she sprang off of the door, across the compartment and out of the now open window. Ice could hear Reno cursing as he fought to balance the copter. The machine's gyrations almost made her miss her catch on the window sill with the strong toes and talons of one foot.

She hung upside down for a couple of seconds, her hands spread and Changing, balancing herself against the cold metal side. They were a long ways UP over the ruins, and it was getting dark. Ice felt someone reach out of the window and the female let go...kicking out a little and dropping to catch herself with hands and tail on the copter's slender skid. Holding tight with her tail and one hand, the rotors downdraft was quite strong, she jerked the belt off of her feet. Ice got a good grip with her toes and cut the distasteful leather off of her muzzle with long sharp claws. She was still upside down, a miserable position to be in with the mother of all headaches. As the helicopter's door slid open, the female managed to right herself, ending upright with all four "hands" and a tail holding on for dear life.

* * *

Vincent stepped cautiously out onto the copter's skid. Ice scooted back as far as she could go to the very back end. She was a lot more balanced and confident then he was. The man crouched slightly trying to make himself seem less threatening.

"It's okay Ice, one of us will stay with you at all times, NO ONE at the labs will be allowed to hurt you."

As he mentioned the labs her thin, mobile lips peeled back, smiling at him with a close mouthed, long fanged grin. He knew there was no humor there. She peered into the dark void beneath them, and he had the feeling she was calculating the long distance DOWN to the ruins.

The gunman almost told Reno to start dumping altitude but stopped as Chaos's gravelly voice interfered.

"NO… TELL HIM TO RISE! IF YOU DON'T WANT HER SPLATTERED, YOU HAD BETTER RELEASE ME. SHE...IS …GOING TO JUMP AND I AM GOING TO NEED SOME AIR SPACE TO MANUEVER."

Great... Valentine tersely told the red headed pilot to get the machine climbing. He warned the dark demon, before he released control to him.

"I need her ALIVE... Chaos... and UNHARMED."

"YEAH, YEAH, ALIVE, UNHARMED. I GET IT."

Chaos sounded nonchalant, he knew he could have some fun without actually hurting the beastie...much.

* * *

Ice was alarmed when the machine started to rise, but the alarm turned to pure terror when the man on the skid with her CHANGED. A swirling black and red mist obscured his form for a moment, then, out of it appeared one of the scariest beings she had ever seen, and this included her brothers. Grey skin, black talons, and wings the black and scarlet of drying blood balanced itself easily on their slender perch. The whole machine dipped as the weight on that side increased faster than the pilot could compensate.

That oddly crowned head turned to pin her with lurid, ancient, EVIL gold eyes and her heart seemed to stop as the THING smiled at her, a gape mouthed, sharp fanged, menacing smile. Its words hissed and caressed across her ears like a hypnotizing serpent as it reached towards her.

"COME...LITTLE MONKEY...LET ME GIVE YOU A HAND!"

The female tried to step back, away from this nightmare and her foot met empty air. There was NO way she was letting THAT get its claws on her. Without hesitation Ice spun, launching herself out and down into free fall.

* * *

Chaos chuckled darkly, the creature's terror had been just as sweet as any humans he had ever tasted. This might be a lot more fun than he had originally anticipated. He watched the pale form free fall for a couple of seconds, than casually stepped off of the skid, dropped out of the machine's downdraft and unfurled his wings to take up the chase.

The only warning Reno had, was Yuffie's,

"HOLY SHIT…Vincent...we have a problem."

Then all hell broke loose in the passenger compartment. The red headed pilot had his hands full as the weight shifted around faster than he could compensate, making the machine impossible to balance.

"YO...people... get it under control back there!"

He heard Valentine tell him to take his bird UP, and when he looked out to protest, his eyes were met with black and red mist as Vincent shifted forms to Chaos. Reno shut his mouth and took the machine up. Swearing, he fought the controls as the copter dipped heavily. Reno could not believe his eyes when the pale form of Ice baled off, leaving the safety of the aircraft and leaping into clear air. Then he had another fight with the squirrelly machine when it rebounded up and over as the weight of the demon left the skid. He could hear Yuffie dry heaving and sent her a silent apology as he banked the copter hard, bleeding off altitude and speed, trying to get a glimpse of the doomed, falling beast, and the nightmare that was pursuing her.

* * *

Ice was caught in a grim battle between her animal instincts and her intelligence. Pure fear had the animal part of her practically gibbering in terror. Her other side knew it was going to need ALL of its intellect to map out a way to survive this fall. Pushing the fear away, Ice concentrated on the moment. She was falling in a classic, head down, arms and legs pulled in, ruff tightened down as far as it would go for streamlining, pose. She wanted time to study the mess she was falling into, but was sacrificing it for speed. The female KNEW she had to get down fast. She was agile but damn it...she didn't have wings and the Changer from the aircraft DID.

She adjusted her eyes, Changing them so that she could see in the dark. In infrared, the ruins were ablaze in the night. She was still far enough up that she could not make out any detail, all of the hot reds, yellows, and oranges of the day's absorbed heat blended together. She risked a quick glance around… where was that nightmare? A slight pressure wave hit her and she reacted out of instinct spreading her arms, and legs, flaring her mane out stiffly and flattening/widening her body. She could not fly, but had spent many hours rocketing through the ruins, swinging and flying in a way only something primate could. She KNEW how to use her body in this element, even without wings. She watched in satisfaction as the slight, but sudden, decrease in speed that the air resistance made, caused her fall to slow. It was enough that the frightening winged male missed his strike, and passed instead very closely UNDER her. Watching that strongly muscled, wide back pass beneath her at incredible speed, Ice's face creased in a nasty, tooth showing, hostile smile. She had come up with a plan.

* * *

Chaos hovered for a moment, as the helicopter pulled away and started to circle. His golden eyes watched Ice fall, idly noticing that she was consciously increasing the speed of her drop. No matter, the little she monkey didn't have a chance in hell of getting away from him. He glided away at a right angle to her, giving himself some room to maneuver. When he was far enough above and to the side, he rolled, pulled in his wings and dropped in a fast stoop. The faster he caught her, the more fun he could have before his host forced him back into his prison. He was grinning in anticipation, thinking of what he was going to do to his victim as he reached for the soft gold/red form with sharp black talons. The grin changed to a snarl when the female spread her arms and legs, stiffened her tail, and FLUFFED out, purposely changing her aerodynamics and her rate of drop. Instead of intersecting her path, Chaos came in too low and rocketed by, passing underneath. Growling harshly, he rolled and flared, stopping his forward speed. Holding for a second as the female continued her fall, he side slipped, closed his wings and dropped hard, directly over her. He was again reaching for her, with no gentleness intended (after all, she healed almost as fast as he did) when she twisted, rolling in the air to meet him chest to chest. One strong hand and a foot flashed out catching him around the wrist. Before the demon could pull back, Ice scrambled along his frame like a monkey, claws digging in and leaving bloody gashes as she made it up to perch on top of his back.

With a savage curse, Chaos flipped over trying to throw the clinging female off. Damn it! As far as he was concerned she could just SPLATTER. As she moved along his back, burning claws piercing as she went, the demon screamed in rage and started climbing. HELL... he would make it his personal mission to SEE her splatter... Valentine be damned.

* * *

Ice buried all four sets of claws into the thick muscles of the demon's back as he rolled and pitched, trying to dump her. She winced at his scream of rage and pain. Ignoring his growling dire threats and snarled curses she worked herself slowly forwards leaving deep bleeding gashes every time she moved a hand or foot, until she was locked over his shoulders between the wide red/black wings. He could not reach her here with those dangerous sharp talons. Ice twitched as the flesh around her buried claws tried to heal and close, she had to keep working her fingers and toes for her claws to stay embedded. The creature suddenly ceased trying to get rid of her and started pumping the great wings, gaining altitude.

No...that would not do. SHE wanted to go down not up! For a second Ice hesitated. Sergeant had quite literally beaten the rule into her that she was to NEVER bite a human. But, her lips pulled back, this was most definitely NOT a human. The female drove all four of her long canines into the heavy musculature where the right wing met the broad back, closing and locking them with brutal force around its main supporting bone. At the same time, she disengaged the talons of her right hand and reaching out, she grabbed the wing's leading edge and pulled it back towards her... hard. The flight surface immediately crumbled as the demon shrieked in pain. They pin-wheeled down towards the ruins, her impromptu mount trying to slow the fall with his one, undamaged wing.

* * *

Reno knew he shouldn't but he cheered silently when Ice avoided the demon's first strike. The creature seemed totally at ease as she fell, and the red head was beginning to hope that just maybe the female had a plan to survive the seemingly lethal fall. He had seen the kind of damage her body could deal with and without even realizing it he started looking for a place to land.

The pilot had a stab of concern when Chaos, clearly angry, dropped directly down on the plummeting form and could not restrain his enthusiastic,

"YO...way ta go Ice!" when the female climbed the demon's frame, bit and then twisted a wing, forcing Valentine's eldest to unwillingly drop. She ended up riding Chaos down...well...like a monkey!

Rude flashed him an incredulous look,

"RENO...all she is doing is PISSING him off!"

"Shit... "

He hadn't thought of that, Chaos was going to kill her when they reached the ground.

The red head winced at Yuffie's shrieked, "RENO...I am going to kill you!" as he dropped the machine fast, intent on beating the struggling pair down.

* * *

Chaos watched the spinning spires and jagged peaks of the Midgar ruins rapidly approach. He had no use of the wing that was quite painfully locked in the female's surprisingly strong grip, so the demon was turning in the air, timing his other wing's beats so they were not falling near as fast. The dark one had stopped swearing and cursing, saving his breath for the hard work of trying to slow his fall. That didn't mean he wasn't livid though. His rage burned like a cold fire through him. The demon was going to rip Ice into pieces and bath in her blood when he reached the ground. Lets see if she could heal herself when there was nothing left but... hand ...sized ...bits. Chaos felt his host struggling to surface and ruthlessly jerked the pinned wing against the female's locked fangs, using the pain to keep his anger focused, the better to keep Valentine under until HE had finished this.

* * *

Ice struggled to hold the powerful wing and stay on the demon's broad back. Her mouth burned where the bitter, black blood flooded it and she gagged, trying to breath and NOT swallow at the same time. She had not heard the demon make a sound for the last couple of hundred feet, just his harsh intakes of breath as he worked to slow their fall. That didn't mean she could not feel the RAGE rolling off of him in waves. If this male got the chance, he WAS going to kill her. The female wanted nothing more than to GET OFF of this ride of horror.

Ice waited until they were almost on top of the burnt out shell of a tower and she released her grip of teeth and claw. As the enraged demon rolled, spreading the damaged wing and righting himself, she leaped for bare girders as they hurtled past. The male lashed out as she launched herself, black talons missing his grab, but tearing a long slash on her arm from her shoulder to her elbow. As a result, although she caught the cables she was aiming for, the falling female could not maintain her grip. The injured arm gave and she continued to fall. Twisting, Ice landed on a sharply slanted metal beam and slid along it on her hind feet, skin tearing and sharp claws grinding down as she used them as brakes, slowing her momentum. When she reached the end, she dropped to all fours and rocketed out over empty space. She was aiming for a long flat roof, fifty feet out and down. Unfortunately, that is the flat area the winged male plowed into, still moving at a relatively high rate of speed. His impact was enough that he disappeared in a cloud of dust. Ice landed hard, rolling as she bled off speed, she caught herself on the edge, almost dropping into the hole his crash landing had made. SHIT! She could hear the demon cursing savagely and KNEW she was so screwed.

With a pained grunt, the female hoisted herself back onto the roof and spun around, backing up as a seething, angry, black and crimson nightmare pulled himself out on the other side of the hole. He turned, freezing Ice with a blazing hot, golden stare. Blood was running off of the damaged wing which he could not seem to fold properly and his black lips were pulled back in a hate filled predatory smile that showed all of his elongated fangs. The large male moved with deadly, graceful intent towards her, as waves of red rage poured off of him. Ice would have screamed but all she could do was pant. Pure fear locked her muscles up. She was paralyzed, as hypnotized by the demon's evil gaze, the overwhelmed animal part of her mind shut down in fear induced shock. All she could do was watch and wait as her death approached her.

* * *

As Reno threaded the copter into the ruins, its spot lights picked up Chaos's less than graceful descent and the smaller female's amazing one. The usually uncommunicative Rude even rumbled, "Nice!" at the aerobatic slide and fly she accomplished before landing on the SAME roof as the demon.

The red head groaned, Damn...that poor female had a serious case of shit house luck! As the bloodied form of Chaos pulled itself out of its self made hole and started towards the motionless golden female with lethal intent written in its every line, the Turk did the only thing he could think of. He cut his rotor speed to almost nil, just leaving enough to keep them spinning for balance and dropped the machine like a rock, straight down. Rude braced himself against the side and didn't say a word, trusting in the red head's unusual skill in flying the squirrelly machines. Yuffie screamed in the back, it was worse than being on a fast elevator headed DOWN and Cloud braced himself and her as best he could.

Reno took a second to warn everyone,

"Hold on... this is going to get a little rough."

It was too dark to see if they even had the clearance for the wide rotors. Sure enough there was a loud clang and the craft rocked as one of them clipped a girder. Luckily the red head, with more than a little cursing, managed to keep them level. As the roof rushed up he gunned the rotor's speed, trying to slow their descent, but as he dropped the copter in between the demon and the female, he still had almost no lift. The machine slammed down and one skid crumbled. It whipped around barely missing taking Ice's head off with the long tail, she ducked at the last minute. It caught Chaos, picked him up off of his feet and hurled him back down into the hole he had just come out of. When the dust settled the machine was in a more or less upright position but it sat tilted severely on just one skid and at least one rotor was badly damaged.

Rude just looked at his red headed partner,

"You realize," he drawled," that you just wrecked a multi-million gil machine to save a monkey...right? MAN …..Rufus is going to KILL you."

Yuffie groaned and then swore.

"Rufus is going to have to get in line!"

The girl jerked her harness open and glared at Cloud.

"I don't care if all of the people in the WHOLE world turn into slavering creatures and DIE...I will NEVER get into one of these things with HIM again."

Reno shook his ponytail out of his face and grinned nonchalantly back at them,

"YO... What's the prob...haven't you guys ever seen a hard landing before?"

Yuffie just gave him the stare of DEATH and crawled out of the cabin. DAMN! she was glad to be on firm ground even if it was a roof... several hundreds of feet up …..in the Midgar Ruins...in the dark...with an angry Chaos...Was that a GROWL she just heard coming from that hole? oh CRAP!

Cloud drew his sword, and the two Turks took up defensive positions as there was movement in the dark at the gaping hole's rim.

Yuffie could not hide the relief in her voice as a golden claw caught the edge and a dusty dark head appeared.

"VINCENT!"

Cloud and the ninja ran forwards to give the exhausted, injured man a hand up.

He straightened slowly and his crimson gaze probed the roof.

"Where is Ice?"

The young woman didn't care right at the moment. She was more interested in the fact that when she hugged the pale gunslinger, her hands came away bloody.

"GODS …. Valentine where is this coming from?" Yuffie was working at his cloak's many buckles with frantic fingers. The man caught her hands gently in his.

"I am... okay... Yuffie, we NEED to find Ice."

Reno's voice drifted out of the dark from behind the bulk of the wrecked machine,

"Ya might as well let her take a look at ya. Ice is long gone."

* * *

Steel gazed down in utter disappointment at the new litter. Vixen grumbled at him but was too weak and tired from birthing to interfere. The gray female's despair was very evident in her flattened ears, sucked in silvery mane and the way she totally avoided looking at her mate, the troop's Alpha male. Said male casually rolled the kits around with one clawed hand. Two were so deformed they had been still born. The other one was weak, and missing a limb. Steel growled softly, this is how EVERY litter that they, the dominant pair created, turned out. The fact that they were litter mates, and had been genetically altered meant that they just could not seem to produce kits that even came close to being viable. Steel hummed in misery under his breath. The male had even allowed the second ranked pair to breed in hopes that it was a problem confined to just the dominants, but that breeding had produced the same dismal results. There would be no trying THAT again as Snow had died from injuries caused by their rogue sister and her Gods be damned silver knives.

Steel's lips wrinkled a little in hostility. He was torn between the instinctual need to kill one who was not of the Troop, or to catch her,(he snorted, THAT would not be easy) and force a mating to see if that would produce viable young. The Troop was running out of options with just one fertile female left.

Shadow ghosted up behind him, as quiet as his namesake. He did not approach closely until Steel shifted over allowing the second rank male to peer down at the dead and dying kits. Vixen moaned softly and her sad eyes pleaded with the two males to make this right, something that they were not able to do. Steel allowed Shadow to pick up the two who were dead, and the alpha scooped up the one that was still squirming feebly. He moved closer to his mate. He took a moment to clean some of the birthing blood from between her hind legs with his warm soothing tongue. Then he transferred his attention up, cleaning the tears of sorrow and pain from her muzzle. He finished by gently swiping the broad, strong appendage over each of her eyes in order to comfort her. Rumbling softly at his mate, he turned and followed his lieutenant out, he would do her the favor of not killing the living one were she could see or hear it.

Titan watched his two leaders carry the offspring out and accepted the one that Shadow gave to him, as he started to stuff the morsel into his mouth, Shadow growled and ordered him in his deep rumbling voice, to take his meal ELSEWHERE. The massive black male shrugged and vacated the area. Steel watched the yellow eyed subordinate male leave, carrying the small form. It did not bother the alpha, as it would be a waste to not use the protein. He would not partake of the gruesome meal, but Shadow, Titan and Ghost were welcome to. As the coal colored male vanished into the darkness, Steel broke the neck of the remaining live infant and handed the limp, body off to the pale form of Ghost. That lowest ranking male gave him a close mouthed submissive smile of thanks and scampered off to enjoy the fresh meat that he rarely got to indulge in without a lot of stress. Steel's pale green, thoughtful, eyes did not leave the fading black form of Titan. He knew that the male had been leaving the ruin's to hunt, and not just for meat. Steel wondered if a...careful... breeding with a human female might be the answer to their problem.

* * *

It took Yuffie, Cloud and finally (believe it or not) both Turks to convince Vincent not to immediately follow the escaping female.

It was Rude's,

"MAN...going down into that, injured, and BLEEDING is not a smart move. There are THINGS in there that hunt by SMELL!" that convinced the gunman to take a few minutes to remove his cloak and shirt so that his friends could assess the damage caused by Ice's teeth.

Valentine heard Yuffie suck in her breath,

"Damn, Vincent...shouldn't that be healing faster?"

The young ninja's use of his given name instead of her usual annoying nicknames, gave a voice to her concern.

Vincent hissed through clenched teeth and could not control the flinch as Reno poured antiseptic from the copter's first aid kit over the torn, deep, bleeding wounds slashed over his right shoulder blade.

"YO...keep still, and don't be a baby."

The red head's long cold fingers were remarkably gentle as he probed, cleaned and bandaged the nasty looking bite.

"I ain't going to stitch that, pretty sure that I heard somewhere that animal bites should be left open to drain. Ummmm, helps prevent...infection."

Reno's mobile face was shuttered, he did not even want to IMAGINE what the already screwed up ex-Turk might turn into..

Speaking of which, Vincent consulted quietly with Chaos, "So...oh great hunter...do we have to worry about …...?"

The demon snarled,

"DO YA WANT THE GOOD NEWS FIRST OR THE BAD?"

The gunfighter winced, he would have to be careful, the demon was not going to forgive Ice anytime soon. And IF he got his powerful hands on her, Vincent was pretty sure she wouldn't survive.

Chaos hesitated, he was furious with his host for snatching control back before he could exact some revenge on the female. But he did answer. After all, it was HIS well being at stake also.

" THE BAD NEWS IS...YES, THAT... BITCH ...INFECTED US WITH THE VIRUS SHE CARRIES AND IT IS INTERFERRING, TO A DEGREE, WITH MY BEING ABLE TO HEAL UP THE WOUNDS."

The dark demon let the human sweat it for a moment.

"BUT... NO...WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT TRIGGERING A METAMORPHISIS AS MY HEALING ABILITY IS FAMILIAR WITH THE BUG AND IS...DEALING... WITH IT. IT SEEMS THAT...YOU...WE, HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THIS BEFORE."

"WHAT?" Vincent realized he had said this out loud when he got a curious look from Reno, who had finished binding his shoulder.

A soft laugh rumbled through his mind, pushing Chaos back for a moment,

"**Haven't you EVER wondered where I come from?" **

The Galian beast seemed to find his host's confusion funny.

**"I was created from a Lycanthrope, what you would call a werewolf. ALL werewolves are carriers of the virus. Hojo must have modified it and used it when he implanted ME, into you. The Chaos gene is keeping it suppressed and under control. I am not sure how Ice was created, whatever she is, it is not WOLF based. But... I am sure that she was constructed using one of my kind as a base, her scent is very similar."**

Valentine rocked back on his heels,

"But... werewolves are just a myth, they don't actually exist."

The Galian beast just snorted. Chaos chuckled darkly, his good humor restored by his host's evident distress.

"YEAH VALENTINE, AND... DEMONS... EXIST ONLY IN NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES."

* * *

Reno stepped away from the seated gunman. He envied the man's ability to heal almost any injury but would NOT be willing to pay the price that Valentine had paid to acquire that ability. Sometimes, when the ex-Turk got...that look... in his eyes, it really CREEPED the red head out. He wondered what it would be like to carry on a conversation with something as ancient, immoral and just plain evil as Chaos. The Turk paused, if he were a betting man (which he was) and a pervert (which he most definitely was) he would bet that the ancient reprobate had some GREAT tips on some really kinky...! Reno cringed and shook his head, oh my GODS! sometimes he even disgusted himself. (although, to be honest, that didn't happen very often!}. This was not something he would care to discuss with the demon any time soon, the man shuddered, that dark one would PROBABLY want to... demonstrate... what ever technique they might discuss. He glanced Vincent's direction and jerked his gaze away when the crimson eyes flashed to an amused glimmering gold for a second. Reno had to clamp down iron control when fear made his stomach jump. Could the man's resident demons read minds? GODS! he hoped not.

Rude came back out of the wrecked copter, he had taken a moment to contact Rufus and see how soon another ride could be sent their way.

"Okay peoples, it looks like we are going to have to get ourselves out of this mess. Rufus says that there have been a couple of outbreaks of people "Changing" into those mindless things like the lab tech. Evidently the hospital has treated a couple of cases that came in alive as just...animal...attacks. The president has all of his teams out right now trying to...quarantine... the problem. As soon as a copter is clear, he is sending it to coordinates that are a little easier for a pilot to reach. We are going to have to hoof it to meet them."

He gave his partner a hard look that the red head winced away from. Usually Reno could ignore any dirty looks from Rude because of the shades, but the big man had taken them off to better see in the darkness.

* * *

Yuffie watched as Vincent gathered himself and rose, moving with his usual lithe grace. The young woman could not help admiring the way the moonlight played across the man's lean, muscled torso and pale skin. Even the many crisscrossed scars that glimmered a muted silver added to Valentine's masculinity. OHHH if she could just get the male into a dark private...Yuffie realized where her thoughts were going and covered her face. WHAT was wrong with her? They were in a dangerous situation and ALL she could think of was climbing that long, tall and handsome...CRAP! she was so glad it was dark enough to hide her blush. Still, she was incredibly disappointed when Vincent shrugged back into his torn shirt and settled the crimson cape with a practiced flowing swirl over his shoulders. Cloud had returned to the passenger compartment and came out a moment later holding the pouch that had been removed from the odd harness that Ice had worn. He also brought the two silver knives that Vincent had given him and the four smaller exquisitely balanced throwing blades that they had removed from the drugged female. All of the little knives were laced with gleaming silver. The quiet swordsman joined the ninja as they followed the gunman when he tracked Ice's blood trail across the roof to where she had headed down into the ruins.

Vincent knelt and touched the puddle of rapidly drying blood left where Ice had frozen before the copter intervened. There was quite a bit of it.

Chaos growled happily,

"OH YES...I MARKED HER GOOD!"

The man sighed,

"I thought I said, alive and UNHARMED?"

The demon was unrepentant,

"CONSIDER IT THE BEGINNINGS OF PAY BACK FOR THIS." his damaged shoulder twinged sharply. The gunman winced, then pushing Chaos back, he followed the trail to were it dropped off of the roof. Cloud, Yuffie and Reno joined him. Rude just leaned against the bulk of the copter and actively watched the darkness, there were monsters that roomed these ruins.

"Hnnnn," Vincent shot Cloud a stern look.

"I have to get Ice back, Yuffie's health depends on it. Can you make sure that Yuffie gets to Rufus's lab and stay with her until I return?"

The gunman knew what he was asking of Cloud but felt there was no choice. Cloud swallowed hard but nodded.

Yuffie's head shot up.

"NO WAY! ...I ...am going with you."

The young ninja looked petrified.

"I WON"T go to ANY lab unless you are there, Valentine, so unless you want to truss me up like you did Ice... you can just FORGET it."

She glared at the three men. Reno just grinned and put up his hands, he would have NO problem trussing the brat up, matter of fact, it might be fun. Vincent just closed his eyes with a long suffering sigh and Cloud ran his hand distractedly though his spiky hair.

He looked at the crimson cloaked gunman with unhappy blue eyes,

"Don't even ask me to do it against her will, Vincent. It isn't going to happen."

In the end, with much growling, useless cajoling and a lot of whining, not necessarily from Yuffie, it was decided that Yuffie, Vincent, and Reno (because he was ordered to not let the bitten girl out of his sights) would try to track and recapture Ice. Rude and Cloud would meet up with Shinra and take the one syringe of antibody's that was left in the female's leather pouch to the labs to be analyzed.

Yuffie watched that last syringe disappear into the dark with Cloud. If she Changed anytime soon, she would be stuck, unless Rufus could create a miracle or they could find Ice. (although Yuffie had her doubts that the female would willingly help her, after the way she had been treated)

* * *

Ice staggered a little as she tried to keep up her fast, three legged pace. She was tired, sick to her stomach (even though she had vomited out a lot of the drug that her system had cleansed from her blood, much to her throat's distress), thirsty, and her slashed arm ached abominably. She just wanted to get HOME and never leave it again. To HELL with the havoc her siblings could create in the human's world, right at this moment, the female could not bring herself to care. She stopped for a minute, trying to staunch the slow flow of blood that still oozed from the gaping wound that the winged male had created. They had removed her pouch and without some type of binding, the damn thing just would not close. The human's had even removed her silver knives, she was practically defenseless. If she ran into a brother, the crimson male had practically signed her death warrant.

Fine... Ice looked around trying to place her location. There was no way she could continue down further into the dark. There were THINGS down here other than her brothers that would be attracted to the scent of her blood. She recognized where she was at and with a soft huff she turned and headed for Sergeant's resting place. It was possible that she could rest there for a short while. There were very few that would dare to follow her down THAT narrow tunnel.


	6. Chapter 6

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

This chapter has been edited from the original to comply with DeviantArts rating rules. The unedited version can be found at adult fan fiction.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 6

Whisper watched intently as the group of humans split up. He had been moving silently through the Troop's territory when the winged nightmare had rocketed through. The male had watched in astonishment and approval as Ice vacated her position on the creature's back and slid by, practically under his nose. She was so close that he could smell her blood. The male winced as the female ended up facing off with a truly pissed off monster. The entertainment factor went up ten notches when the machine dropped out of the sky, allowing his rogue sister a chance to escape. The male's pink tongue lolled out as he stifled his laugh, he really needed to come UP more often, no matter the danger, it was just TOO much fun.

Blood colored eyes narrowing, Whisper sank lower as the small group of three made their way off of the roof, following the female's blood trail. He had to be careful, as his lack of natural coloring made it hard for him to blend into the shadows. He watched the tall cloaked man with particular interest. He wondered how Steel would react to an outside Alpha male blatantly invading his territory?

Whisper could not help himself. Moving as silently as his namesake, he followed along. When he caught the human female's scent, he was totally hooked. She was a first generation Changeling. HOW had that happened? Just what had his independent little sister gotten herself into?

The young male hesitated, if Steel, Shadow or Titan (he shuddered) caught him in their territory, he was totally screwed. BUT… that little female was UNRELATED, and only protected by two HUMAN males. Whisper kept close tabs on the rest of his siblings, he had to for his own safety. He knew what was going on with their failed attempts at young. Alpha or not... If ANY of the troop found these three, the males were dead, and the female's fate was sealed. Whisper decided it was worth the risk. He would continue to track them, and see what the hell was going on. Heaven knows, being alone, he had nothing else to do.

* * *

Yuffie followed Vincent, and Reno took rear guard. The girl snickered a little hysterically, yeah like anyone would let the perverted red head guard their rears. They were moving slowly down through the twisted, burnt out remains of old Midgar's high class sector. Yuffie moved as carefully as possible, she did not have the gunman's night vision. Vincent was hesitant to use any artificial light for fear of attracting unwanted attention. The moon illuminated the shadows just enough that the young ninja knew she didn't want to slip and fall. As if even thinking about falling jinxed her, her foot slipped on the beam and she staggered only to have a strong arm slip around her waist from behind.

Reno's lips brushed her ear,

"Careful, princess. It's a long ways down."

The Turk stepped back before she could protest the closeness and his hand lingered for a second on her hip. Vincent had turned as she slipped and he gave the redhead a hard look out of glimmering crimson eyes. Reno arrogantly lifted his hands up, trying and failing miserably to look innocent. Reaching back, Valentine casually snagged the ninja's wrist and eased the girl up to where she could walk closer to him.

Yuffie's heart skipped a beat when the warm hand guided hers under his cloak to hold on to the gun belt that strapped Cerberus to the man's lean hips.

His deep voice was just a rumbling whisper and she wondered if he was aware that his thumb was making slow soothing circles on the back of her hand.

"Keep close Yuffie, and...watch...your...step."

The young woman was glad when he released her arm, because she was sure her goose bumps were the size of small mountains. It was all the girl could do to keep her concentration on her footing as the muscles of the ex-Turk's strong back and waist slipped and slid under her hand, easily felt through the thin silky shirt he wore. DAMN, this close she could not ignore the musky mix of warm skin, sweat, gunpowder, yes, and even the slight coppery tang of blood that swirled around him. One of these days she would have to ask him what cologne he used as it was an intoxicating smell.

* * *

Reno eased back, not trying to hide his amusement. GODS... you would think that Valentine thought he was trying to horn in on the man's action. The red head was horny but NOT stupid. The brat would kick his ass if he tried to put a move on her. Although, GETTING his ass kicked by her might be...Reno shook his head, he was lucky that Vincent could not see the way he was ogling the slender woman's behind. He wondered for a moment if he should tell the ex-Turk that when his lips had brushed her ear she had felt awfully warm to him. NAW... there was no WAY he was telling the demon ridden man that his lips had been on ANY part of Yuffie's body. He was a lot of things, but suicidal wasn't one of them.

* * *

Ice slid tiredly through the last narrow spot in the tunnel leading to the entrance of where Sergeant stayed. She hesitated for a moment in the doorway, looking for her Alpha's large bulk in the dimly lit cavern. There he was. The female moved into his territory cautiously. On his good days, the beast who once was a man enjoyed her visits. The female always tried to bring him canned food and the occasional E.M.R. The ready made military meals were stock piled in what had been known as Deep ground, and since Sergeant could not get out to hunt, she tried to keep him well supplied. His bad days were the reason she had trapped him, at his request, in this large natural cavern. The massive head turned towards her as he caught her scent, his nose was now much better at distinguishing things than his eyes.

A rumble echoed like thunder off of the walls.

"Iccce?"

A good day then. The massive form was lying on its belly, hind legs tucked under, chin resting on thickly muscled forearms. Even laying down the wide, heavily muscled, humped shoulders arched over her head. Sergeant spent a lot of time in a state of self induced hibernation. It was a natural function of the creature who's DNA was mixed up in the mess that Shinra's labs had made out of the once competent man. Ice limped forward so that he could see her with his near sighted eyes. Those seemingly sleepy yellow brown orbs widened as they took in her injured arm and did not miss the fact that she was weaponless. Shinra might have taken his humanity from him but their experiments had NOT lessened the keen intelligence that lurked behind those eyes one iota. On his good days, Sergeants mind was as sharp as it had ever been.

"Iccce...what...?"

One set of scythe like claws flexed in a come hither gesture. With a soft huff the female scooted a little closer. HE was going to be SO angry at her. The chagrined female told him the last few days events starting with finding the injured girl and ending with almost landing back in Shinra's labs. His glowing eyes did narrow in anger but Sergeant took pity on her sorrowful, sick state. He rumbled a soft sigh.

"Iccce... "

Then he lifted one large forearm in invitation, making a space for her to climb in almost under his chin, press tight against his warm, secure mass and lay down. With Sergeant's huge might hovering protectively over her, much as it had (in other ways) most of her life, Ice let herself slide into a restful, much needed, healing sleep.

* * *

The beast who had once been a man, gazed down at his ward as she wiggled in tight against him and lost no time falling asleep. A soft growl echoed in his cavernous chest but he stopped it before it could exit his throat. Ice had truly and royally screwed up. She should have just put the human girl down like she had done the male. Now...she had made the girl HER responsibility. With a grumble, Sergeant bent his head down and over, studying the creature that he had made HIS responsibility so many years ago. The man could understand why she had tried to save the female. Ice never complained, but she was a creature who craved, no, NEEDED social contact, being forced to live in almost total isolation. The beast was very aware that she was terribly lonely. He had failed her miserably. She should be living in freedom some where. Not stuck down in this dark hole, riding herd on her dangerous siblings and taking care of a monster who was slowly going insane.

Humming low in his throat, the beast who had once been a man slowly ran his large soothing tongue over the nasty slash in the sleeping female's arm, cleansing the blood off and pressing the edges carefully together. It had a sharp, hot, metallic taste that was not a part of her. He wondered if this was why it was healing so much slower than it should have?

Sergeant grumbled softly to himself again and settled his chin lightly on the curve of her hip. Then sadly, the beast who had once been a man, spent the next two hours trying to figure out how he was going to tell a being he thought of as his daughter that she would have to make the choice of, one, finishing the job of euthanasia on the young girl she had tried to save. Or, two, she must willingly turn herself over to the very people that had caused her such pain, then tried to kill her so many years ago, so that a cure for the virus could possibly be found. If she did that, she would probably spend the rest of her very long life as a specimen in Shinra's labs. The man for whom ethics did not exist until almost too late and whose sudden discovery of them, had both saved and caused him to lose his humanity, moaned low and deep. For the life of him, he just did not know what choice he should push Ice to make.

* * *

Titan headed out into the human's city slowly mulling Steel's orders over in his slow mind. His Alpha knew that the subordinate male had been force breeding human females, then finishing the kill when he was sated. Sometimes that wasn't even needed as the humans were terribly weak and fragile. Troop females could trigger themselves into heat when the Alpha males felt the need, they were primed by nature to sexually accept any male stronger than them. In their world, there was no such thing as rape. Titan had seen no such ability in the human females he had bred. They ALL fought him, (at least those who were aware it was happening) Silly females, as if they could win. Steel wanted to know if a human woman could survive a "careful" breeding and actually kindle.

Titan grinned a wide, gape mouthed grin. The massive male wasn't sure what a "CAREFUL" breeding would entail, maybe not killing and eating the female, but HE was sure as hell not going to complain. When an Alpha male gave you an order, you obeyed, whether you liked it (here his wide pink tongue ran out in a hoarse, coughing laugh) or not.

* * *

Finally, they made it down onto level ground. Vincent had been very concerned about Yuffie and Reno's ability to make it through the treacherous wreckage of the skyscrapers, safely, in the dark. As it was, they had slowed him down to an almost crawling pace. He would have been much better off if they would have just let him track the female alone. Yuffie let go of her death grip on his belt and slipped up to stand more beside him then behind. The gunman glanced down at her and caught her looking slyly at him out of the corner of her eyes. He noticed that even in the dark he could see the light blush rise on her cheeks. Damn it...now he was positive, the couple of times the young woman had stumbled and caught herself with her free hand planted on one of his ass cheeks weren't accidental. The sneaky ninja had been taking advantage of the situation and GROPING him. His crimson gaze brushed past her and studied the long, lanky form of Reno as he examined the almost dry blood trail for a moment and then returned to his position of rear guard. Valentine sighed, the gunman guessed he should count himself lucky, if he had had to attach the amoral red head to his belt, Vincent knew he would have been lucky to make it down with his clothes still on! Reno gave him a cocky wink as if he could read the ex-Turk's mind. GODS! What had he gotten himself into?

They followed the trail through the dark as it steadily dropped into Midgar's ugly underbelly. They had to stop when it doubled back and disappeared into what looked like a natural cave. There was evidence that the entrance had been purposefully collapsed until only someone slender and flexible could enter. Reno watched as Vincent experimentally tried moving some of the rubble that partially obscured the opening. It was too heavy even for his formidable strength. The red head could tell that the gunman was a little large to even think about entering that dark hole.

Yuffie peeked into the darkness and cleared her throat nervously,

"I can fit through, no problem."

Reno grinned when Valentine turned with blinding speed trapping her shoulder in his hand.

"I... don't... think... so, I can smell something big in there..."

The tall man eyed the hole warily and his pale lips tightened,

"And...I am pretty sure Ice is not going to be happy to see ANY of us.

Reno grimaced, it is not like he had a choice. Tseng would be VERY unhappy if he let the creature get away.

"Well...guess that just leaves lucky ole me."

He crouched, double checking the dimensions, while he removed his jacket and tie. The Turk got teased a lot about his tall, wiry almost feminine build, but it looked like it was going to come in handy this time. He slipped his feet into the dark and with a little wiggling managed to get through. The tunnel widened out a couple of feet in, which was a good thing. The red head wouldn't admit it but he truly hated small, confining spaces. He was surprised when, as he got his shoulders through, Valentine's gleaming claw on his wrist stopped him. Looking up, Reno couldn't stop his flare of surprise when the gunslinger drew one of Ice's silver laced knives and handed it through to him.

Vincent crouched to where the Turk could see his face.

"I am sure the silver on these isn't there for ornamental reasons."

Reno just nodded and started to get himself turned around, he stopped as fear crawled over his skin

"YO...", He looked straight into the crimson eyes, "DON'T ya dare leave me if I get fucking stuck."

The gunman's elegant brows flew up, the golden claw squeezed his wrist lightly,

"We will make sure we are here when you come out. Just... BE CAREFUL"

Reno managed to complete his turn, as he moved away from the opening, the other could hear him mutter sarcastically,

Yeah that's me...CAREFUL is my middle name."

* * *

Ice woke to Sergeant's drooling and snoring against her hip. She lay and watched in amusement as his lips blew out with each exhale. A silent giggle vibrated her, it was so bad it was actually blowing her mane around. Carefully, she pulled herself out from under his huge arm and stiffly made her way over to the small spring that bubbled through the cave. She was terribly thirsty, but only drank a very small amount. ALL of the ground water down here was Mako contaminated. Sergeant had been Mako enhanced before they Changed him, so he suffered no ill effects from it. Ice on the other hand, drank from a large store of bottled water that was stock piled at HOME. She only drank elsewhere down here when under duress. A snort from the sleeping mountain's direction drew her attention. She watched as Sergeant blinked and irritably shook his head. The yellow brown eyes had a slight glaze over them, she would have to leave soon.

"Iccce..."

Sergeant sat up and crooked massive claws at her. Ice cautiously came forwards, and obediently sat and listened to what he had to say. By the time he was finished, she was backing slowly up, desperately shaking her head. She could not BELIEVE what her Alpha was asking, no, ordering her to do.

He was deadly serious, and he followed her, insisting that she promise something that she was entirely unwilling to commit to, one way or the other. Sergeant moaned softly at her distress and reached to comfort her with those curved scythe like claws. Ice was giving up and stepping into her beloved Sergeants shaggy embrace when the red headed male (RENO... the asshole! she was SURE that was one of his other names) popped out of the small entrance into the cavern.

* * *

Reno had just barely controlled his fear as he made his way through the passage. Most of the tunnel's short distance was relatively open, allowing him to walk normally with plenty of room to spare. But in several spots, it had been purposely narrowed to restrict access. These were the spots that caused the Turk tremendous fear as he wiggled and twisted to get through them. The final one was right before the opening into a large natural cavern.

The Turk was already keyed up by the time he slipped through the doorway, so he reacted predictably to the sight that met his eyes. Ice was backed up against the cavern's side wall and she was definitely looking distressed. A HUGE, hump shouldered monster was reaching for her with massive, wicked looking claws. Reno reacted instinctively, drawing his gun and firing two shots into the monster. The beast shuddered and screamed at the double impact. Other than making it angry, the two bullets didn't seem to have any affect at all. It reared onto thick hind legs, dropping its heavy head to clear the cavern's ceiling. Its wide mouth opened to roar at him, long strings of saliva dripping from the jagged teeth that were exposed.

"HOLY SHIT!" was all the man could think, as swinging deadly claws, the monster shambled towards him.

* * *

Ice launched forwards, placing herself between Sergeant and the red head. Her hopes of being able to stop him were dashed when his enraged gaze pinned her. A good day for Sergeant had turned to a BAD one for everybody in the sudden thunder of gun fire. There was nothing of the man left in the beast's yellow, glowing eyes.

"HOLY SHT!" she thought as she ducked the first raking swipe of those sharp talons.

Spinning, she plowed into Reno, her weight physically shoving him back into the cavern's entrance tunnel. She could hear his breath leave him in a whoosh as she caught him midriff, knocking him off of his feet. For a second they lay belly to belly. She could feel the tunnel shudder as the monster that was Sergeant dug at the exit's sides, widening the hole.

As the panicked female scrambled over the man, and through the first narrowing, she dropped her muzzle, her lips brushing his ear. For the first time in years, Ice forced four hissed, choked words past her tortured larynx,

"You... should... be... RUNNING!"

* * *

Reno wasn't entirely sure how he ended up on his back. But, the thought DID cross his mind as he fought to catch his wind, that her warm, firm belly pressed tight against his, (did he feel FOUR breasts hidden in that cinnamon mane...? WOW!) the thigh pressed between his legs and the muscles rolling and shifting against him felt remarkably good. The erotic element of it jumped up when soft thin lips brushed his ear and a hissed breath whispered across into it.

That is... until the entire tunnel shuddered, and he recognized the hoarsely whispered words contained in that breath.

"You... should... be...RUNNING!"

The female scrambled desperately over him and through the first narrowing of the tunnel, almost gelding him with sharp back claws that dug into his thigh as she pushed herself off of his prone body. Reno rolled and shoved himself through, as the cavern beast's massive head and shoulders pushed its way into the enlarged entrance. He was right on Ice's long tailed ASS as they ran to get out of there.

The Turk was wiggling through the last narrow spot before the exit, when the tunnel walls shuddered again. The opening he was halfway through suddenly collapsed pinning his hips between the broken wooden ceiling support beam and the floor. To make matters worse his flashlight skittered away leaving him in total darkness. CRAP! Reno twisted and turned but could not get any purchase with his hands to help pull him out. The redhead swore he could feel the raving beast's breath on the other side, sizing up what a great snack his feet would make. Panic was slowly over taking him when he felt the warm mass of Ice's body move back over him.

The female huffed softly in his face, then worked down his body until she was straddling his waist. The Turk could feel her back feet working their way in until they were almost under his trapped hips. She sat on his stomach for a moment, her weight a bit of a surprise. Reno was panicked enough that he didn't have ANY erotic thoughts this time as she wiggled her butt down, getting her body as close to the pinning beam as she could. The man felt sharp talons and blunt fingers work between the wood and his flesh, then for a moment Ice was almost still, although he could feel her making slight adjustments to where her feet and hands were placed. Then, with a soft groan, using her whole body, she strained up against the collapsed ceiling and to the Turk's amazement her warm ass left his stomach and the weight across his hips shifted. Reno wasted no time scooting his butt back and using his arms to pull himself out of the rubble the rest of the way. His hand brushed the lost light and he flashed it on. It illuminated Ice's broad, maned back, and the musculature standing out in rump, thighs and arms as she held the weight to make sure he was clear then snatched her hands and feet back letting the beam fall. Turning, the female raised a hand to shield her eyes and with a lip curling smile she shot past him, making for the exit.

* * *

Yuffie sat with her back against the wall and watched as Vincent worked at making the entrance way a little larger. She had to admit it was a very pleasant way to spend the time. The young woman smiled, Reno had seemed VERY unhappy entering the confines of that narrow tunnel. Although... she really couldn't blame him. The ninja wondered just what the gunman had smelled that bothered him so badly that he wouldn't let HER follow after Ice. After all, it wasn't as if she had to worry about getting bit again. Well... this just SUCKED, she was TOTALLY able to defend herself. Yuffie frowned at the man's cloaked back as he visibly winced while trying to move a particularly large rock.

"HEY, you had BETTER not open up that bite again... Vinny!"

Yuffie grinned as he turned and glared at her from half lidded crimson eyes. They glinted in the slight illumination from the light that the ex-Turk had set up.

"Here, why don't ya let me help you?"

Yuffie got up and slid in next to the man, she was pretty sure that there had to be a way that she could accidentally rub up against him while they...DAMN what was wrong with her? It seemed that she just could NOT keep her mind out of the gutter. She rubbed tiredly at her face hoping that it hid the sudden blush that she knew burned across her cheeks.

Vincent laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, his deep voice gave no hint as to whether he was aware of the heat wave this caused in her very turned on body.

"Why don't you just take the time to rest, Yuffie?"

The gunman gave her a slight push back towards where she had been sitting. The muffled sound of two gunshots rang out of the tunnel's entrance followed by a skin crawling, guttural scream of rage. HOLY SHIT! Yuffie was pretty sure that WASN'T Ice.

* * *

Vincent spent some time getting a light set up, making sure Yuffie drank and ate a little of the emergency supplies that Turks always seemed to have on board their aircraft. Kind of made you wonder if they EXPECTED Reno to wreck the birds on a regular basis. Then he worked at trying to clear the entrance hole a little. He had been a little surprised at the fear he had smelled on the redheaded Turk as he slid into the entrance. It seemed that Reno had a bit of claustrophobia wrapped up in his odd personality. The gunman winced a little as the bite on his right shoulder twinged when he moved a particularly stubborn rock and almost could not control the flash of anger at Yuffie's use of the dreaded...Vinny... nickname. He did subdue it though when the girl brushed up against him, he could feel the fever radiating off of her slender body along with a very interesting and intoxicating scent. The Galian beast stirred a little and muttered something about heat. He pushed the beast back, of course she was HOT... she was running a pretty high temp.

Valentine gently shooed her away, he did NOT need the distraction right at the moment. Both of them turned and watched the tunnel entrance in dread at the sound of gunshots and the following scream. Vincent drew Cerberus as something in the tunnel rumbled and rock dust billowed out. He thought he heard Reno yell and he was moving towards the entrance when Ice came shooting out of the dark hole. She breezed by the ex-Turk and ran right over Yuffie. For a hair raising second the creature froze face to face with the girl, then she sprang off and headed out into the dark.

"CRAP! "

That panicked exclamation had Vincent turning as Reno worked at getting through the now partially collapsed entrance. At the look of fear on the man's pale face the gunslinger closed the distance, grabbed Reno's shoulders and physically pulled him out as the tunnel trembled and more rock slid down over the entrance. Reno stood for a moment bent over at the waist, wheezing. Then he flashed a pale eyed look at the ex-Turk and choked out

"RUN!"

* * *

Ice could not BELIEVE that she had gone back to pull Reno out of the collapsed tunnel. What was she thinking? She owed the male NOTHING, as a matter of fact, she should have just let Sergeant EAT him. SHE most definitely did not want to be in here if the monster that had been Sergeant managed to break free. Without hesitation the female barreled out of the entrance, screaming by the crimson male. (Vincent her mind gently reminded her) Unexpectedly…she plowed right into the Changeling. For a second, Ice froze, forgetting the males behind her. She was being presented with the opportunity to finish this right now. Sergeant had made it clear that it was okay to euthanize this one. Silvery blue stared into the young female's startled, frightened brown eyes and Ice realized there was really only one choice. The female sprang off of Yuffie and headed into the dark. She made herself stop out of their sight and wait for them to pull themselves together. She would lead them HOME. Maybe Sergeant's files and notes would be enough and she would not have to go with them to the labs.

* * *

Titan dropped the man whose neck he had broken and spun to block the remaining female's escape. One hard blow from him stopped the human woman's screams and put her on the ground. The black male was proud of the fact that he controlled his strength enough that she remained conscious. He watched with curiosity as she tried to drag herself away from him. Following... The beast straddled her and covering her mouth with one hand, he heaved the weakly struggling body up, and awkwardly drug her towards the ruins. If he were going to be "Careful" he wanted to be where there was no chance of getting interrupted. This might take a little more time than his usual quick act of release.

* * *

Yuffie was scrambling to her feet as an enraged roar echoed out of the almost blocked tunnel entrance and huge scythe like claws appeared, digging at the rock sides. She had been caught off guard when Ice had run her down, and something in the creature's face as she loomed over the ninja had really frightened the girl for a minute. Yuffie had been groping along her side trying to reach one of the silver laced throwing knives that Vincent had given her, when something shifted in that long muzzled face and Ice had surged off of her into the dark.

Vincent drew Cerberus but Reno grabbed him and shook his head.

"Bullets DON'T work!" The Turk managed to gasp out. Both men backed up until they were even with Yuffie, then together they turned and followed Ice into the dark. All three came to a sliding stop when they pounded around a corner and Reno's light illuminated the red and gold female as she rose from where she had been sitting, evidently waiting for them. She backed as they approached her, keeping enough distance between them that they could not make a grab for her.

Her hands flowed, spelling out one word. "Follow." Then she turned and moved away from them at a fast paced trot.

WARNING….RAPE…BESTIALTY….DETAILED NON-CONSENSUAL SEX…..WARNING! Don't read between these lines if you are sensitive!

* * *

Titan dropped his weakly squirming burden when he was far enough into the ruins to feel safe. Again he watched in amusement as the female staggered up and tried to get away from him. A quick dart forwards and the male trapped a fragile ankle in one strong hand, yanking the woman off of her feet and back to the ground. A quick twist of the hand and the crack of bone, accompanied by a piercing scream guaranteed that he wasn't going to have to waste energy chasing her. It did not matter if she were slightly damaged by the time he was done. This one was just ...experimental... (thin lips curled at the delicious irony of it. ALL of the Troop had been the subjects of MANY humiliating and painful...experiments.) The female would not need to walk again. Even if she did kindle, Steel would not allow kits from a third rank male to survive. The top Alpha would finish the kill, then find his own female and impregnate her if this worked.

The narrow muzzle dipped as Titan sniffed with single minded interest at her shapely (albeit tailless) rump. The female rolled over, kicked at his face and pushed herself with her one good leg and her hands backwards. The black beast followed until his prey was pressed back against a wall. His fang filled mouth opened, eliciting a scream from the woman and the beast took the opportunity to hook a talon over her bottom teeth. A deft tongue slipped onto her opened mouth. The woman's voice was muffled as that strong muscle slid in deep, sampling every surface that the male could reach with its considerable length. She struggled against his hold, then froze as six inch fangs pressed into her cheeks on either side of her face. Titan only withdrew when his ministrations triggered a fit of gagging on her part. The male hummed with pleasure licking every bit of the sweet taste of her fear and pain off of his lips. Yellow eyes blinked as Titan straightened up, one of his powerful hands pinning the woman against the ground.

First things first, all of the cloth she wore would just get in the way. Titan casually hooked his claws into her shirt and with a negligent swipe, ripped through the fabric. It parted easily, no match for his sharp talons. Surprise, surprise, she wore more cloth underneath, binding the soft mounds of her breasts. (Only two, how odd...Did this mean that human females were not capable of having a full litter?) His mind got distracted away from the thought as he cut the binding, allowing her to spill free. The soft flesh brushed against his blunt fingers. Unfortunately, her skin was fragile and it parted as it slid along his claws. The sweet scent of blood flowed into the cool night air. He pulled the resisting woman back towards himself, moving her away from the wall a little. Then the beast straddled her body as his long muzzle hovered over the shallow gashes. Titan waited for the blood to trickle away from the wounds then delicately lapped it up, being sure to get no saliva in the open gashes. The female's breathless whimper, actually increased the desire he was starting to feel for this tempting little tidbit.

Taking his time, Titan cleaned every bit of the sweet coppery nectar that spilled away from the wounds, off of the soft skin of her breasts and heaving stomach. As his muzzle neared her groin, the savory scent of her sex wafted up from her waistband. The male rumbled softly. Hooking his claws, he sliced through the slightly tougher fabric at the waist and lifting her hips bodily off of the ground, he peeled the pants off of her long, pale legs.

Other than a soft moan or two, the woman had been relatively quiet up until now, most likely in shock. When the beast eagerly pressed his broad nostrils against the light fabric that covered between those legs and tongued it softly, his victim came to life with astonishing swiftness. Screaming... as if she just now realized his intentions, the female managed to roll beneath him and get to her hands and knees. Titan surged up with her, one large, blunt fingered hand spreading across her upper back and pushing her upper torso down, the other digging claws tight into the curve of her hip. Moaning, the woman pushed back against him, trying to get away from that burning pain. This made it easy for him to grab that light fabric in strong flexible lips and rip it off of her. She tried to reverse directions, her breath leaving her in a rising scream as he delicately tongued her, checking to see if she was in heat. Tucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and curling his lips, the male determined that, no, this female had not triggered a heat cycle to accommodate him. Why didn't human females do this? It would make being mounted much less traumatizing on them.

The woman was shaking and she jerked against his hold, protesting her ass in the air, probably uncomfortable position. The male clasped her hips tightly with the one hand and the other stroked the soft skin of her back where her tail SHOULD be. Her struggles meant nothing to him as he pressed into her from behind.

Titan was amazed that the female survived the mating all the way through his rough, pounding climax. She wasn't conscious when he finished, but she HAD survived. He settled back against the wall holding her limp, bloody body in his lap. It would be a few minutes before his swelling would relent enough for them to separate. Temporarily forgetting his rank and the female's guaranteed fate at Steel's hands, Titan hummed softly in his throat , carefully cleaning the tears and sweat from his mate's face with his broad tongue, and then gently working his blunt fingers and talons through her tangled sweaty hair. ALL females LOVED to be groomed and fussed over after a bout of sex. Maybe... if she did not kindle, and if he was attentive enough, NEXT time, she would trigger her heat cycle for him and then she would enjoy the mating too.

* * *

Vincent could smell blood on Reno but did not realize that his injuries were anything but minor until Yuffie's sudden shout of warning. The gunslinger turned just as the Turk staggered. Vincent watched in horror as the man righted himself , and then slipped off of the girder that they had been slowly negotiating as they followed Ice down into the dark, seemingly bottomless hole that was a part of Deep Ground. The redhead managed to catch a hold on the edge, momentarily delaying the inevitable. The twisted girders and beams they were using to climb down dropped into a man made canyon. Rusting pipes and old cables crisscrossed and dangled over the abyss. He thought that Ice was making for a narrow bridge that joined some of the cables in spanning the gap. At the very far bottom there was a glimmer of green. Valentine remembered that the lifestream surged to the surface here in a type of river. Any one who might survive the fall would not survive immersion in that deadly torrent. As fast as the gunman was, by the time he reversed his course enough to reach the dangling man, Reno's long, pale fingers lost their grip on the edge of the beam. Yuffie had flattened out on the narrow surface and had hold of the Turk's wrist. She could not hold his weight and keep herself on the beam, and the girl cried out in anguish as she had to let go. Valentine swooped in and just missed his grab as the redhead started the long fall into the abyss.

* * *

Reno had misjudged his own strength. He could feel the gashes that Ice's claws had accidentally ripped into his thighs bleeding, but he ignored it. He was a Turk and although they did not have the Mako exposure and lightening fast healing that a SOLDIER first or even second class had, they still were modified enough that any small wound healed pretty quickly. He figured that since they really didn't hurt all that bad , they were probably just flesh wounds. The Turk was more concerned with the hip that had been half way crushed under the collapsing tunnel's ceiling, IT kept trying to lock up on him. The combination of blood loss, and that hip giving out was what had him staggering, then slipping off of the narrow girder they were traversing. A quick grab saved him from the initial deadly plummet.

Reno felt Yuffie grab his wrist but he also felt her slip as his weight pulled her closer to the edge.

"YO...let go!"

His pale eyes held her brown ones for a second, surprised at the distress he saw there.

The sudden weak dizziness, and tunneling of his vision was all the warning he got before his strength gave out and his fingers lost their grip. The redhead was just conscious enough to be aware of the fact that he was falling.

* * *

Ice stopped when she heard Yuffie shout. The female was starting back towards the group when she saw Reno fall. One sharp sweeping glance was all she had time for as the female launched herself out and up, rolling so that when she intercepted the male they were face to face. Wrapping one strong arm around him and locking her tail around his leg, Ice continued her roll. Momentum carried them out and down towards one of the thin cables that spanned across to the other side. Ice made her catch as they hurtled past it, with her free hand and a foot. Unfortunately, the rusted steel could not handle the sudden shock as their combined weight hit it and it snapped with a crack like a gunshot. As steel whipped down in a whistling arc, Ice's grip slid off and they were catapulted up and out into the dark.

* * *

Whisper had moved ahead of the odd group as they traveled. He knew where his little sister was leading the human's. He was more that a little surprised that she was giving up the location of her sanctuary, BUT... Ice had always been one who was hard to predict. Her quick intelligence, steadiness, and sly sense of humor was what had made her so much fun when they were young kits. Whisper had been crushed when Sergeant had told them she had been put down. The male's joy at finding her still alive after the human's had all vacated Deep Ground was tempered by the fact that she would never trust a Troop male again after her betrayal by Steel, their Alpha brother. The rogue brother had contented himself with staying hidden and keeping an eye on her when he was able.

Whisper had crossed the bridge well in advance of the small group, in order to remain hidden and was watching from a high vantage point opposite them when he saw the red phase male slip and fall. The white loner froze in astonishment when his sibling spun and as he watched her head swivel, then her body tense, the male KNEW what she was planning on doing. Whisper almost screamed at her as Ice made her leap. The only cable she was going to be able to catch was NOT strong enough to withstand the stress. Swearing gutturally at her, the white leaped out aiming for one of the chains that dangled loosely over the abyss. Using his considerable weight and momentum, he arched his thick body, getting the impromptu trapeze swinging in a fast and hard trajectory. Whisper reached the top of the swing as the two interlocked bodies hurtled down past him. He reached out and SNATCHED. With more luck than anything, the male managed to get a handful of tail, right close to it's thick base. He caught a flash of wide, shocked silver eyes as his sister looked at him from her upside down position while they hurtled down. Using the pendulum effect on the chain, Whisper held on with all of his awesome strength as they shot down through the chain's wicked swing then he released his hold on her, timing it as they whipped through the bottom arc. It added momentum, and gave him the opportunity to aim the pair at the bridge. He rode the chain to the top of the swing again and let go, letting speed and momentum whip him back into the ruins where he had started the wild ride. He caught himself and watched as Ice managed to grab a bridge cable with one hind foot as she shot by the narrow construct. The sudden stop had her snatching as she lost her secure grip on the male and she ended up upside down, both hands and a foot locked under and around his shoulders, holding on for dear life with four slender, strong toes.

* * *

Vincent almost let Chaos out...but he remembered the demon's screaming rage at the female in the last moment and changed his mind. He had a brief glimpse of hope when Ice made her catch on the cable. That hope was lost at the gunshot crack of it breaking, and her slide off of the end. He was still wrestling to suppress Chaos as Yuffie screamed, then cheered when a blur of white rocketed out of the ruins on the other side, made a spectacular swing and catch, then hurled Ice and Reno towards the bridge. The ex-Turk hesitated when he passed the ninja as they scrambled to get down the girders.

She hissed at him,

"Get MOVING Valentine!...I can get down by myself."

With a quick nod, the gunman utilized ALL of his enhanced speed and agility in the race to get to the dangling pair before Ice's precarious grip was lost.

* * *

Reno realized fuzzily that Ice had him in a painful three point grip, arms curled under his armpits then locked across his chest and a foot wrapped around one bicep. Her head was draped over the other shoulder, long muzzle actually turned and buried down tight under his jaw, taking some of the stress off of her arms. He could feel those shaking with the strain of holding on. The man managed to look up and realized how perilous their position really was when he saw that it was just the toes on her other foot holding them. Granted, she had wrapped her tail around her ankle and over the toes to reinforce them but he doubted if/when the toes slipped, she would be able to hold their combined weight with just that prehensile tip.

"Shit...Ice just let me go."

The golden female jerked a little, startled by his voice. An odd moan vibrated against his throat as she hissed. The hoarse whisper that she ground out of her damaged throat was simple and to the point..

" Shut up Reno...and be very still." Looking down, he decided to take her advice.

* * *

Ice had been taken totally by surprise when she had been caught by the tail. The shock and strain of the following jerk and swing pulled and cracked every vertebrate up her spine. She got a flashing glimpse of a snow white mane and blood red eyes, then she was whipped towards the bridge. Making her catch, she had a couple of hair raising seconds as Reno's limp body was jerked out of her grip by the sudden stop. It was only by scrambling with both hands and one foot that she managed to regain her grip on him. The female just hung there, totally at a loss for what to do next. She could not twist them up, he was too heavy and her grip, even with the addition of her tail, was too shaky to even try. She felt the minute Reno awoke and she moaned softly in warning as he shifted, causing her grip on the cable to slip a little. She swallowed and managed to force a few words out warning the male to BE STILL!

Vibrations rolling down the bridge made the cable jump and caused more slippage, she was holding on now with mostly the curve of her talons. Ice could not control her body's twitch when a warm hand and a cold one wrapped around her ankle and tail. That twitch was all it took for her claws to slip off. The female heard a grunt and soft hiss as the hands slipped, then tightened and held their weight. Untwisting her head, the female looked up into the flashing crimson eyes of Vincent Valentine. His lips were pulled tight at the strain, showing his even white teeth as he slowly managed to pull them both up to the safety of the bridge.

* * *

This was amazingly hard to edit without loosing content. I think I have skirted right up to the line of what DA will allow...if any think I stepped over..please let me know. As always I love hearing from you all.


	7. Chapter 7

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus CH. 7

Vincent didn't think he was going to make it in time. As he hit the bridge he could see that Ice was holding on with just the very tips of her claws. The ex-Turk could not suppress the groan and soft hiss that escaped his lips when her grip did fail as he reached them, and his almost healed shoulder complained about taking the strain of catching their combined weight.

"IT WOULD SERVE HER RIGHT IF I LET YOU DROP THEM!"

Chaos grumbled.

Valentine forgave his eldest his ire as the demon pumped some of his dark strength through his host. The gunman sent a silent apology down to Ice as he double wrapped her tail around his wrist. He was pretty sure she didn't mind as he felt the flexible length of it tightened hard around his forearm and it even took another wrap on its own. It made hauling their considerable weight up just a little easier.

* * *

Yuffie made it to his side and helped get Reno up the last couple of feet. The Turk stifled a groan as they grabbed his legs while hoisting him onto the bridge. Vincent's hand came away bloody. THAT explained where the injury was. Not letting go of Ice's tail, the ex-Turk half carried, half dragged the redhead to more secure ground. The female came along without complaint, but did shoot him the mother of dirty looks at his impromptu leash.

Yuffie was working at Reno's belt the minute Vincent knelt and lowered him down.

The redhead's eyes flew open. And he weakly pushed at her hands.

"YO... hold up there."

Yuffie shot the man an incredulous look.

"Come on…. Reno, I know you aren't shy!"

The Turk gave her a leering smile,

"I'm not...just a minute..."

The man wiggled himself around so that his head was resting on Vincent's thigh. Then he gave her a blissful smile, relaxed, and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Okay darlin, I 'm comfy now...go for it."

Yuffie jerked her hands up and scrambled back like she had been burned.

"You...FUCKING pervert!"

Vincent surged to his feet with a growl, and taking advantage of his distraction, Ice jerked her tail out of his hand. Yuffie could not resist when Reno smacked the back of his head on the ground.

"Ha...serves ya right...Asshole! Now VINNY gets to deal with it!"

Reno grinned and flashed the ex-Turk a sultry look from his prone position on the ground,

"Ohhhh... that would be fine by me, either one of you would do."

Yuffie froze in shock, had the Turk lost THAT much blood? Then, at the look on Valentine's usually impassive face, she managed to stuff her hand in her mouth and muffle the giggles that threatened to escape. Vincent's eyes flashed gold for a moment, then he knelt and in a couple of tugs had the Turks belt undone and his pants down.

The tall gunman leaned forwards and Yuffie just barely heard what he whispered to Reno.

"Chaos says... REALLY? If that's the case... HE is volunteering to take care of this for you."

Geez, the ninja hadn't thought that the redhead's pale complexion could get any whiter... but it did.

"YO...don't even joke about that!"

Vincent's lips curled in a wicked smile revealing slightly elongated teeth and his deep voice developed a rough burr..

"AS YOU KNOW... TURK...VALENTINE NEVER JOKES. NOW QUIT JACKING AROUND BEFORE YOU BLEED TO DEATH…NOT THAT I WOULD CARE!"

Yuffie didn't think Reno's eye's could get any bigger, for that matter hers felt like they might pop out at any minute. She was sure glad Chaos showed no interest in HER...Although with those soft wings and ….Shit!

The young ninja could not help herself as she leaned forwards to get a look at Reno's...leg... He was wearing a pair of really nice, silky looking briefs, but she still knew that her cheeks were burning. She knelt next to Vincent when he hissed softly,

"GODS Reno...That's arterial... why didn't you say something earlier?."

Yuffie could see several gashes on both of the Turk's pale thighs. A couple had come really close to...and that would have just been a shame... CRAP! What was with her head!? It just refused to stop drifting into the gutter!

None of the wounds seemed too terribly bad. As a matter of fact, the majority of them had closed and were rapidly healing. One was high up towards the inside of his leg, and although it was not long, it was a deep puncture. Blood surged out sluggishly with each of the man's heart beats.

Reno struggled up on to his elbows to look,

"That hip's so sore I really can't feel those...didn't even realize they were still bleeding."

Vincent slashed a glance at Yuffie,

"I need you to apply pressure here while I ….."

Yuffie took one look at where her hands would have to be.

"HA...I don't think so... HE won't behave himself!" (ohhhh and maybe I wouldn't be able to behave either!)

* * *

Ice snatched her tail out of Vincent's hand, Alpha or not...really! She examined the end of it and gave the offended appendage a couple of soothing swipes with her tongue. Then she waited expectantly for the Alpha to put his lieutenant in his place for making a pass at his mate. She was stunned when that did not happen. The female shook her head, maybe the second was castrated, that would explain why Vincent did not count him as a threat to his authority. Ice scooted forwards, curiosity driving her to look and see when Reno's pants were removed. No... he was certainly an intact male. The female smacked her lips together softly, she would never understand how human Troop politics worked. Then... she caught a whiff of a hot, metallic scent, and flashed a look at the crimson male. The winged nightmare looked back at her for a moment out of crimson eyes gone suddenly gold, and she had to sit hard on the sudden urge to run. Maybe THIS Alpha did not have to get physical to reprimand.

Ice huffed and gave the redhead a guilty look when she realized where the bleeding injury had come from. She slipped forwards and slid her fingers up the pulse path on his leg. Shifting his male parts out of her way, (and wasn't that silky material a PLEASURE to touch) she balled up her hand, wrapped the other around it and being careful of her claws, bore down hard above the bleeder, compressing the artery and effectively slowing the flow of blood. Reno's softly inhaled breath at her initial touch (oh yes...she would be willing to bet PERVERT was one of his OTHER names) changed to a pained grunt at the pressure. She caught Vincent's startled look and kept her expression bland as she blinked at him. What... did the foolish male really think that Sergeant wouldn't have taught her the basics of first aid?

The were watched as Vincent cleaned the blood away and examined the wound. The red female flattened her ears again in apology when Reno twitched as a quick flick of gleaming golden talons removed a sharp sliver out of the injury. Evidently one of her claws had splintered and the piece left behind was responsible for the prolonged bleeding.

Ice guiltily looked away, studying the ruins. She had thought her albino brother was dead, it had been so long since the last time she had seen him. He had escaped shortly after Sergeant's capture and subsequent "punishment." It had made keeping herself hidden all that much harder as the whole underground compound had been searched high and low, but Whisper (her fragmented memories released the name reluctantly) had proven to be wily and was never caught.

The golden female watched the shadows warily...why had he helped? She could understand why he would have intervened if she were a part of his Troop. But an Alpha male would not lift a hand to help a subordinate male. (unless the one needing assistance was one of a leading "team" like Steel, Lahar and Shadow) Most males hid their injuries, as any sign of weakness was a lure for a subordinate male to try to move up in rank. An outside male like Reno was attacked without qualm. Whisper had always been smaller, but smarter than the others and had never vied for an alpha position... but still... HE was male...this made him untrustworthy...Why had he helped?

Ice's attention was snapped back as the man beside her did "something." A wave of energy crawled over her hands, stinging her fingers. Her mane stood straight out in reaction and it made her sneeze hard, four times. She gave the man a blurry, outraged look out of watering eyes and scrambled back. DAMN! Ice shook her smarting fingers and licked them.

She was happy to see that Reno's life threatening wound healed quickly, but she still curled her lips at Valentine and signed,

"_From now on,...BEFORE you cast a Cure... I would appreciate a little warning, so I can put some distance between us. To say that was... uncomfortable... would be an UNDERSTATEMENT!" _

The female was surprised when it was his crimson gaze that shifted away from her spiky maned, hard glare this time.

* * *

Reno had been barely aware when Vincent had laid him down, but having a beautiful young woman who SMELLED irresistible fumbling at your belt was a perfect wake up call. Maybe it was the blood loss but he could not resist yanking her chain a little. Of course, he wasn't really sure what made him extend the invite to Valentine, but when Chaos answered it, the Turk swore to himself that he would NEVER sexually bait the quiet gunslinger again. It just wasn't worth the risk of attracting the attention of the scary things that dwelt inside of him.

The Turk had been startled when Ice slipped up next to him and ran a cool, calloused finger up his leg. He could not quite stifle the reflex intake of breath that the oddly arousing touch of her shifting his silk encased genitals out of the way, caused. Of course when she bore down on his leg, pain wiped all of those wonderful erotic feelings away. Add the sharp stab he felt as the gunman's gleaming claw picked something out of the wound and ALL of the fun of being in this position totally escaped him.

The injured man caught the glint of metal as Ice slanted her ears down. He got the distinct impression that the female felt badly for having gouged him up, even if it had been an accident. Reno was just getting ready to tell her it was okay when he was interrupted by Vincent casting a Cure, Ice jerked away from him as if she had been stung. Her mane was standing up almost straight out and she shook her fingers and licked at them like they burned. The red head had a hard time suppressing his smile as, the up until now, quiet female gave the crimson cloaked ex-Turk a silent, but intense dressing down. The red maned female evidently had a feisty streak that she kept well hidden.

An odd sound from Yuffie drew his attention away from the entertaining sight of the intimidating, master of killer demons, Vincent Valentine not quite knowing how to deal with an upset female. Then the redhead rolled as he tried to place his body so that it would cushion the young woman as she collapsed into dirt. He succeeded in that she fell across his stomach and for the second time in the space of a few hours Reno had his breath driven out of him. There was nothing sexy about it this time though. The man could feel the sickening shift of Yuffie's bones and hear the cracking and crunching as they re-aligned themselves into a new shape. Remembering how badly the ninja had reacted last time she Changed, Reno had the presence of mind to wrap strong arms around her.

* * *

Titan huffed softly as Steel and Shadow approached him and the woman he had chosen to mate with. The third ranked male scrambled to his feet, laid the female's limp body down and backed off, smacking his lips in submission at the two dominant males. Steel watched as Shadow sniffed at the females eye's, tasted her breath and finally delicately sniffed at her sex.

The second ranked black shook his mane out and pinned Titan with a hard golden eyed glare and returned to stand by Steel.

"Not only has this female NOT kindled, but she most definitely has been exposed to the virus, she is not far off of a second generation Change."

"You were supposed to be CAREFUL!."

The larger of the two blacks cringed at the anger in Steel's rumbling words.

He rolled his head, offering his Alpha his throat,

"They are just too fragile and small," The black glanced slyly at the slightly smaller of the brothers, "Maybe if Shadow bred one while he was in human form...?"

He rolled on his back as both dominant's snarled at him and Steel pinned him, mock biting his exposed throat. As if ANY male would put himself at risk by taking that fragile form while they were vulnerable. Titan was lucky they did not kill him for even suggesting it, as both brothers knew the massive black most likely had ulterior motives. Without the mass and strength of the deceased Lahar backing them, the two smaller brother's were well aware they were at risk if Titan ever caught them separated. But, this time the big black phase male submitted. After chewing on him for a minute, Steel let him up. The brothers watched as his large form disappeared into the ruins.

Shadow slipped quietly over to the sick human and petted her soft hair for a moment. He took the time to clean the dirt and blood off of her, then with a soft sigh, he broke the fragile neck. Steel just shook his head as he watched Shadow arrange the body on its side, curling it into a comfortable fetal position. Then with a final soft pat the black rejoined him, looking away in embarrassment as Steel ran his tongue out in a guttural laugh.

"Brother, you are too soft in the heart for your own good." The gray's lip lifted as his smaller black brother refused to meet his eye. "If it bother's you this much, maybe YOU had better be the one to attempt it next...I have full confidence in that you would be...easier...on a female than Titan."

Shadow's ears went flat and his own lip lifted,

"Why not Ghost? He is smaller than me."

Steel rumbled a growl at Shadow's reluctance and, in his eyes, the second's insubordination.

"NO...I will not let a male with no rank, breed. Next time... It will be you!"

As they headed back into their territory, Shadow risked one more glance back at the petite female's sad body. Damn...they desperately needed living kits. He found, much to his surprise that he was actually considering Titan's dangerous suggestion.

* * *

Yuffie was trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin while Ice gave Vincent a silent but eloquent chewing out. The young woman couldn't understand what those graceful flowing hands were saying. But the poofed out cinnamon mane, the female's pissed off body language and the gunslinger's chagrined look... said it all. Yuffie's grin shuddered into a grimace as she felt the first crawling itch under her skin that seemed to indicate that... Change... was eminent. She tried to give Reno and Vincent fair warning but when the itch swept into flame, all that came out was a garbled moan. Pain flashed through her, she felt her legs give out and was vaguely surprised when instead of hitting the hard ground, she somehow landed on something soft. It took the ninja's overloaded brain a few seconds to process the fact that the soft body belonged to Reno. For a moment the uncharitable thought crossed Yuffie's mind that the perverted Turk was probably enjoying having a female body writhing around on his. Then, as she heard her bones popping and grinding, she relented, figuring that NOBODY was sick enough that they would find the creepy feeling of her body literally changing shapes... a turn on.

Yuffie felt remarkably strong arms wrap around her, and even though they belonged to Reno, it brought some comfort to her as she tried to scream with the agony that accompanied her body's unnatural transition. The only sound that her spasmodic throat and lungs would allow out was a soft…uhhnnn...uhnn...uhnnn!

A warm hand curled around her waist, and she realized that Vincent was holding her as he used his claws to carefully cut through her confining clothes to allow for her body's changing shape. It did help some of the pain in her chest, shoulders, and stomach. This small relief allowed the thought to leak through that it was a shame he was cutting off her clothes in THESE circumstances and not somewhere more...private.

"YEAH ….like Valentine would want to DO a monkey girl," she thought in despair, as with the Change complete, she lay panting across Reno's prone form.

* * *

Valentine had never seen someone who reacted like they were allergic to a Cure before. Needless to say, he was caught a little off guard at Ice's pained reaction to his casting one. He took her dressing down with good grace as it was evident that the creature was just letting off some steam. After all...he thought...it wasn't like she didn't have a reason to be just a LITTLE upset with him in particular. The gunman was just opening his mouth to apologize when Yuffie made a small, odd sound. Vincent turned just as she collapsed on Reno who had twisted around to provide a living cushion. He got a quick look of surprised pale eyes, then the prone man shut them and wrapped his arms around the ninja's twisting, Changing form.

"VALENTINE...SHE NEEDS TO BE NAKED. SHE HAS NOT LEARNED THE ...CLOTHES... LESSON YET."

Chaos suggested helpfully. He wasn't being his lecherous self, even the demon's hard heart could sympathize with another being going through the pain of an unwanted Change.

They both knew through experience that the tight clothes Vincent had buttoned up for Yuffie earlier could not give, and were contributing to some of her pain. They both had learned the lesson early on, wear things that could give, tear or come off easily to adjust to a changing form. Steadying her writhing form as much as he could with his good hand and trying to ignore the disconcerting feel of her muscles and bones shifting and changing, he cut the confining material off with his gauntlet's sharp talon's. Yuffie just lay panting when it was done. Reno opened his eyes but did not let go of the very different form he was now holding. The man flashed Vincent a distressed look as Yuffie shuddered and buried her face under his chin.

Vincent ran his good hand over her mane which at first had looked black. It was a deep chocolate that looked black until light played over it drawing out the rich velvety highlights. The long silky hair moved as she breathed, shifting luxuriously over her head, neck, shoulders, and chest, before ending mid-back in a V which pointed suggestively towards her long silver tail. The rest of her, from her up-swept, pointed, shell like ears, to her short fingered hands and feet, was covered with a soft silver fur that was striped with a broken mottled pattern done in that dark warm chocolate. Yuffie's long muzzled head came up, and Vincent couldn't help but think that the way the chocolate striping accentuated and drew the attention to her honey gold eyes was strangely attractive. The Galian beast stirred and rumbled appreciatively.

"Srit...tha futhin urs..." The words the young woman managed to spit out were totally garbled.

Vincent froze, afraid that maybe this change had also damaged the young woman's mind. He shifted over, a little surprised when Ice willingly came forward to crouch next to him.

Those graceful hands danced and the gunman translated for Yuffie,

"_Try that again...a little slower. You will have to adjust to your jaw, tongue and throat being very different than what you are used to_."

An inner eyelid flicked reflexively across, darkening the honey of Yuffie's eyes. This time, although she spoke very slowly and it came out rougher and deeper than what the gunman was use to hearing, it was definitely Yuffie.

"I... said...SHIT!.. that... FUCKING... hurts!"

She glanced at Reno, wrinkling her lips, and Vincent had to repress a growl as he realized that the Turk was secretively stroking her velvety fur. This time the words came easier to her.

"You ...can let go...Reno."

The red head caught Valentine's dark look and snatched his hands off of her. The gunman had to hide a smile when the man's cheeks pinked up a little.

* * *

Whisper stifled his laughter as he watched his little sister chew out the Alpha male. The cinnamon maned female had always had more spunk than was good for her. Although the loner understood... he remembered how miserable being that close when a Cure was cast felt.

The Albino had cautiously worked his way closer to the group. He would not admit it, even to himself, but Whisper was desperately tired of being alone. Even watching this odd little Troop from the outside was better than returning to the stark, lonely existence that was his life. He watched wistfully as the crimson cloaked male stroked his female's unusually colored mane, giving comfort. And he had to control a flare of envy as the red phase male surreptitiously stroked her soft, beautifully patterned fur. It had been a very long time since the rogue male had experienced the feel of a caring touch. That one little spot in the middle of his mane was always itchy and tangled. He could not reach it and there was no one around to groom it for him.

Whisper gave a gape mouthed grin at the Changeling's colorful language. EVERYBODY hated the pain and discomfort that Changing caused, that was just a fact of life. He ached to be able to go forward and help when she automatically tried to stand up and had to drop to a quadrupeds four legged stance. This was the Troop's natural form, in it they could stand on two legs, but it took practice. The youngling would have to work at it before she had the balance and coordination to match the natural grace of Ice when she moved.

There was a whisper of sound, and a hint of movement at the edge of the ruin's drop into the canyon. Whisper studied the spot intently, the red phase male had been bleeding and there were THINGS down here that hunted on smell alone. The Alpha male and his little group were so focused on their female that they did not notice anything amiss. The Albino reared up on two legs as a hoard of armored, many legged monsters poured over the rim. Inflating his throat sacs, Whisper BOOMED a warning, and watched as the Alpha spun around and saw the approaching danger.

The young male expected the Troop to run, leaving the lower ranked red male to his fate. That is what his brother's Troop would do, unless the injured one was a female. Instead the tall, raven maned male strode towards the attacking hive, drawing a large weapon from his hip. The sound of thunder filled the dark and individual BUGS started dropping. Ice, looking like she wanted nothing more than to run, (the female had ALWAYS hated creepy crawlies, and these nightmares were BIG) moved up until she was between the Alpha and the downed male. To Whisper's amazement, the newly Changed female, staggering a little at the unfamiliar quadruped gait, joined her shoulder to shoulder. Whatever got by the Alpha would have to go through them to get to the other male. The red phase male tried to rise, but had lost enough blood that he could only make it to his knees. He had also pulled out a firearm and with the other hand he drew an odd cylindrical rod. This subordinate male it seemed would not go down without a fight. Even so...The troop was small and even with the guns, the hive had a huge advantage in numbers.

Whisper dropped fast through the tangled girders, he hadn't stretched his fighting skills in a while, maybe one more would make a difference.

* * *

Reno held tight to Yuffie's twisting body. At any other time having a woman writhing around on top of him would have made his day. But this was just...distressing. The red head shut his eyes but could not block out the awful sensation of shifting bones and muscles or the pitiful sounds that forced themselves out of Yuffie's throat. She was in terrible agony and there was nothing that the Turk could do to help her. He did NOT like this feeling of helplessness. Reno felt the weight on him increase as Vincent pinned the girl's shuddering body as best he could and cut off her clothes. Again there was the quick flash of how erotic this SHOULD be (let's face it a threesome that included the lithe ninja AND the deadly, sexy ex-Turk...and let's not forget his demon's... had been the subject matter of many of this sexual deviant's wet dreams) but it was erased as he felt fur literally spring out of her sweating skin and roll down the suddenly compact body in a wave. Finally, Yuffie lay still, panting. When she shoved her long nose under his chin with a soft moan. Reno's eye's flashed open to catch Vincent's crimson gaze. For a moment nothing but naked despair looked back at him, then the gunman's eye's shuttered themselves and he bent his raven head as he gently stroked Yuffie's long silky mane.

Yuffie wearily picked up her head, and Reno felt a real stab of concern when all that came out of her mouth was nonsense. He didn't think he could handle it if the bright... annoying... young woman had been reduced to an animal's intelligence. Watching the shock and fear flow across Valentine's usually unreadable face Reno wondered if Vincent realized how much of his heart the young ninja owned. Both males breathed silent thanks as with a little concentration the young woman made it clear she had been taking language lessons from Cid.

As the changeling straightened up, Reno caught a subtle and tantalizing scent. WOW...was it the fur that made her smell so good? HE wasn't aware of his hands slowly stroking over the beautifully patterned velvety fur until Yuffie lifted her lips exposing a pretty awesome set of hardware and Vincent growled at him. What the HELL?...he snatched his hands off of her, hoping that his blush would distract everyone's attention away from the OTHER evidence that his body really liked the way she felt and smelled no matter what his mind thought of how she looked. (And lets face it, it wouldn't take much to convince himself that the exotic animal look was HOT!)

A deep echoing BOOM, took care of that concern for him. Vincent spun at the sudden sound, his weapon appearing like magic in his hand. Reno saw a mass of pale, armored creatures pour over the lip of the twisted metal canyon. The gunman strode to meet them, unlimbering the big gun..

Cerberus's deep voice rumbled out and with every shot a monster fell, but it seemed that every one that fell was replaced by two. Reno struggled up but a wave of weak dizziness kept him on his knees. This did not prevent him from drawing both his gun and his E.M.R. Silver and honey gold eyes met, and as one, both females moved to stand shoulder to shoulder between him and Vincent. Reno was stunned and humbled that they would bother. His was not a life that many would risk themselves to save. And the two Avalanche members had more reason than most to just leave him.

Vincent was overwhelmed in a wave of jointed legs, clashing mandibles and whip like antenna's. His talons now joined Cerberus in the killing. Ice moved with blinding speed as one made it past him. She slipped into its embrace, ignoring the slashes its claws made. Bracing her hind toes in its abdomen she buried her fingers in under the armor of its thorax and using her whole body she jerked up. The giant insect was torn in half. Yuffie rolled under a second one that got through, caught its legs as she passed and hurled it back towards Vincent. Reno's bullet caught it on the fly as he jammed his E.M.R under the open mandibles of a third. Thumbing his favorite weapon to it's max setting short circuited the BUGS brain and any nerve nucleus it might have. The insect dropped in a twitching heap.

They were all experienced fighters but it was clear after a few minutes that there were just to many of the things. Both Yuffie and Ice were healing as they fought, but still they bled and they were tiring. Reno had managed through his protectors efforts to avoid any more damage. But it was Vincent who was taking the brunt of the attack. Even with his healing factor he was bleeding from many bites, stings, and slashes. Reno watched in horror as the man went down under the weight of his foes. A blur of white shot past him and plowed into the squirming pile that pinned the gunman.

* * *

Vincent was still fighting, he desperately did not want to loose control of Chaos with Ice this close. Even with his enhancements though, the weight of the hive members was slowly crushing the air out of him. The ex-Turk's vision was starting to go dark when BUGS started flying off of him. He caught a glimpse of a white mane and red eyes, then a large, incredibly strong, blunt fingered hand jerked him up and back on to his feet. The beast spun away and engaged in a deadly dance amongst the hive. There was no finesse, the male would just grab and whatever was unlucky enough to fall into his powerful hands got torn apart. That massive wedge shaped jaw scissored through the insect's tough exoskeletons as if they were paper. The beast gave Vincent enough breathing room that Cerberus again came into play. When the big albino male rolled through like a juggernaut, hive members tried to scatter. This made them easy pickings for the gunslinger. Reno's weapon also sounded off, its voice a lighter tenor to Cerberus's deep bass. In very little time the ground around them was piled with twitching body parts, legs, and the occasional lonely head.

It took a while for the insects to realize they were dead so one had to watch that the lonely heads didn't attach themselves to you with their mandibles. This happened once to Ice and she had an attack of what Vincent could only describe as hysterics until the white male bounced on her, pinned her down and yanked the thing off. It seemed the cinnamon maned female had a real phobia when it came to bugs, and that last little head's unwanted attention was just too much for her over wrought nerves. The final straw was when the white male casually munched on that head while he checked out the dead and dying.. Valentine caught Ice's silver eyes for a moment, the disgust and horror that was there was almost...human. He had to duck his head to hide his smile when she gagged, then licked and wrinkled her lips at him.

The female shuddered as her hands flew emphatically,

"_EWW...GROSS...YUCK_!"

That made it pretty clear what she thought of the whole twitching mess.

Vincent's attention snapped back to the white male when he sidled up close to Yuffie and that massive muzzle swung to sniff at the air around her. Ice flew, slamming in between them, mane straight out, mouth gaped in a threat display. The gunman sighted in on the white form with Cerberus. Reno was almost as fast with his handgun.

Valentine's finger tightened on the trigger as the albino gaped back at the smaller female, but he stopped himself from firing when the beast rumbled out a surprising tenor laugh.

"Ice...little sister...you should remember that I am no threat to her, heat or no heat."

Ice blinked in confusion but did not back down. The blood colored eyes slid slyly away from her to glimmer at the ex-Turk then turned to appraise Reno for a moment. The musical, light voice dropped until even with his enhanced hearing Vincent almost missed what was said.

"Ah...I see that you truly don't remember... I have no interest in females. As Sergeant so delicately put it years ago... I don't swing that way."

The big male sauntered away from the pair of stunned females, and approached Reno who was trying to get to his feet. As the red head staggered, the big male placed himself so that the Turk could catch and then balance himself on the broad, white maned shoulders that were as tall as his waist. Those crimson eye's turned and blinked happily at Valentine as the white male easily supported Reno's weight.

"OH...GODS... TOO FUNNY,"

Chaos was choking with laughter.

"DON"T TELL HIM... PLLLEEASE!… THIS IS GOING TO BE SOOO ENTERTAINING!"

For once... Vincent found himself agreeing with the dark demon.

* * *

This has always been one of my fav chapters...Whisper is a hoot to write!


	8. Chapter 8

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 8

Dr. Angelique Destinie had to work hard to suppress her excitement as she gazed through the microscope at something she thought to be impossible. The scientist had been astounded when they had brought the first Were-Beast's body in to be dissected and thought she had done an excellent job of pretending she had seen nothing like it before. Rufus was unaware of Angelique's affiliation with a lot of the early studies that had been done while she had been a tech in his father's Biological Weapons Program. After she had gotten the HELL out of Deep Ground, she had put a lot of time and effort into hiding that past and wasn't about to jeopardize her position when Lahar was brought in. She had fed Shinra bits and pieces of information that she supposedly deduced from the autopsy but kept most of her knowledge to herself.

The Doctor had orchestrated her lab tech's little "accident" with no one being the wiser, just so she could see the elegant virus doing what it had been designed by nature, and modified by Hojo to do.

Then, there had been outbreaks of spontaneous Changes in the city and this sample, which had come from one of the latest second generation Change victims, did not match Lahar's genetic footprint. There were similarities of course, ALL of the specimens in that cursed program had been related, but this second generation Changeling had come from TITAN... which meant that more than one of Project C's specimen's had survived Deep Grounds destruction!

The Doctor had been ecstatic when Rufus had informed her that they were bringing in a LIVE specimen AND a girl who had evidently survived a first level Change. The best that Hojo had been able to do with the Virus was the Hell Hounds that he created with it for Deep Ground. Those monstrosities, although controllable, had been considered vicious, short lived failures. She only knew of two successes when it came to Weapons that could make a complete metamorphosis then return to almost human. Azul the Cerulean was dead and Project V did not really count because of the addition of the Chaos gene. It was all the researcher could do not to grab Shinra and shake him when he informed her that the one female had escaped and that the other was traipsing around somewhere in the Midgar ruins. Angel managed to keep her cool though. All she had to do was be patient (something this old woman was VERY good at) and wait for Rufus to drop both specimens in her lap...then she would figure out a way to sell them... and... her knowledge of them, to the highest bidder.

* * *

Cloud and Rude were not to far off from where Shinra was supposed to pick them up, when they stumbled across the body of a young woman. They both stood and stared, not because she was nude but because she was so out of place in this desolate ruin. Something or someone had taken the time to arrange her in such a way that at first they thought she was just unconscious. It only took the experienced Turk a couple of seconds to find her broken neck. Cloud almost protested when the big man removed his leather glove and slid his hand between her closed thighs, but remembering Yuffie's experience and seeing the claw marks on the woman's white breasts, he held his tongue. Rude's fingers came out shiny with slick fluid and blood. His normally taciturn features tightened in an unhappy frown as he removed a square of absorbent cloth from a pocket and wiped his hands clean.

"MAN... that is just wrong!"

At this statement from the unshakable Rude, Cloud's blue eyes flashed up from looking at the pitiful corpse. The big man met his gaze for a moment with angry eyes, then as if someone had flipped a switch he became impassive again. Taking his jacket off he draped it over the girl, covering her nakedness. Turning away, the Turk continued on towards the pick up site.

* * *

Ghost moved silently through the dark. The Troop very rarely came into this part of the ruins as Steel felt there was always the possibility that Sergeant would break out of his self imposed prison. The smallest of the Troop brothers gaped and snorted softly. There was no WAY that would happen, he knew for a fact that Ice kept the great beast well fed, which kept him in a state of semi hibernation most of the time. Sergeant had NO reason to even want to escape, so Ghost was confident that there was NO danger here.

Besides...the brother had happened upon Ice's blood trail earlier and had followed it on the off chance that he could catch the female weak and injured. Then, when the scent of a strange female who was in HEAT tickled his nose, well... to hell with worrying about Sergeant. At least that is what the lowest ranked male was thinking when he followed the trail to the entrance of Sergeant's lair.

The small male sank to the floor, almost pissing himself when he realized that the entrance had been torn wide open. Great gashes were dug into the stone of the floor where massive claws had sunk in while the beast had dragged itself through the opening. Ghost's ears flattened and whimpering in fear, he slowly backed out the way he had come. Once he was sure that the monster who had once been their Alpha was not going to jump out and eat him... he turned tail and RAN! Steel needed to know that Sergeant was on the loose!

* * *

Reno managed to lever himself to his feet, but not without considerable nausea and a spinning head.. The Cure that Valentine had cast had healed him, but it could not compensate for the loss of blood. Only time would rectify that. The Turk staggered and found himself braced against a bug juice splattered, heavy muscled frame.

The redhead jerked himself back,

"Holy Shit!"

And promptly lost his balance. The white male shifted so that the man was leaning against the tall broad shoulders again and crimson eyes slanted sideways at him before hastily looking away. Well...Okay...who was he to turn down a helping hand even if it wasn't quite human. A quick glance at Ice to see what her reaction to the big male was didn't help his confusion any. Her and Yuffie were just standing there STARING...as if they hadn't seen a man in his undies before…Geez! The red head carefully bent down to retrieve his pants only to have them pulled out of his reach by his living leaning post. He reached for them again and was blocked by that big, wedge shaped head.

"Yo...what gives?"

Reno wasn't expecting an answer he was just giving voice to his frustration. The Turk certainly didn't let any of his irritation show, the thing had matching five inch daggers for teeth and they were situated right at HIS crotch level.

"Your clothing reeks of blood."

The beast tilted its red eyes up to look at him as it spoke. The man's anxiety level increased when that long, narrow muzzle swung back and prodded at his blood streaked thigh.

"For that matter...this needs to be cleaned off before you attract any more predators."

A warm, wet tongue vigorously swiped at his leg. Reno was caught off guard and before he could gather himself enough to protest, the albino had most of the tacky blood removed. The redhead sputtered and pushed at the white muzzle inefficiently with his hands. Vincent slipped up silently and Reno could have SWORN he saw the man smile a little as he passed.

The deep voice didn't give anything away.

"He is right you know... might as well let him finish cleaning it off. Here... I will take these for you."

With that the gunslinger scooped up his pants, taking them completely out of the red head's reach. Reno glared at the man's crimson cloaked back. Valentine had bled just as much as him and HE didn't have a killer monkey working him over with a soft warm tongue.

Speaking of which,

"Ummm...yo... usually I at least get a name fore I let someone drool all over me."

The big male took one more long swipe that lightly brushed the man's silk brief's before it ended. The albino smacked his lips a couple of times.

"I am called Whisper, and I DON'T drool."

The look turned wistful as those intelligent eye's blinked innocently up at him,

"Sooo... you know my name now...does this mean I get to lick you some more?"

* * *

Ice watched, curious to see if the Alpha would interfere with Whisper's courtship. When the crimson male did nothing and even seemed to encourage it, the female shook her head, she would NEVER understand human Troop dynamics. Realizing that she had more than her fair share of splattered bug juice and blood streaked across her coat, Ice expanded the shake to include her whole body.

Yuffie squealed as a fair amount of what flew off, landed on her.

"GROSS!"

Ice just had the time to jump back as the Changeling copied her shake, and almost fell on her nose. Huffing at the girl in amusement, Ice moved out, intent on getting to the safety of HOME as quickly as possible. The whole group reeked of splattered bug, spilled blood, and the dangerous scent of a female who was well on her way to a full heat. She could not THINK of a better attractant to bring her brother's Troop down on them.

* * *

Yuffie recovered her balance, damn...this four legged thing was a little more difficult than it looked. Scratching at a small spot of drying blood with her HIND hand,(and wasn't having FOUR usable hands just Uber COOL!) she grinned to herself. The instant healing was something that she COULD get use to also. It sure made fighting easier when you didn't have to worry about getting hurt. She wondered just how much damage this Changed body of hers could handle. (Note to self...ask Ice about that}

And speaking of battles... WOW could that big white male fight. He had flown out of the ruins, white mane swirling like a living flame, muscles bunching and sliding under that silky pale coat. The male had cleared the pile off of Vincent and pulled the gunman to his feet all in a few glorious seconds. When it was over and Whisper had sniffed delicately around her, Yuffie had experienced the most overpowering urge to turn her rump to him and slide her tail... OH MY GODS! What was WRONG with her?!

The chocolate and silver beast that was Yuffie crammed her hands into her mouth for a moment to stifle her sudden need to scream. Then she was up, following after Ice. There was NO way the ninja was letting that particular female out of her sight! The young woman caught a flash of crimson as Vincent shot a concerned look her way but Yuffie just glued herself to the cinnamon maned female's long tailed ass. She flat could not trust herself around ANYTHING male right at this moment and did NOT want to cause herself or the gunman any embarrassment while she was stuck in this current shape. Really... she couldn't get Valentine to kiss her while she was her usual gorgeous self. What would he think of a monkey girl making advances at him?

The shudder that passed over her body, lifted her fur in a rippling wave, and screwed up her coordination enough that she tripped over her own feet. Ice had dropped back besides her and her strong hands prevented the girl from painfully bumping her nose on the ground. Yuffie choked back a silent sob...Great... That would have at least given her an excuse for the tears that were sliding silently down her cheeks.

* * *

Vincent watched Yuffie's chocolate mane swirl as she loped by him, he didn't show it, but he was more than a little concerned with his young friend's state of mind. He remembered well the terror and heartbreak of waking up to find out that he was no longer entirely human. The gunman knew that the young woman had to be dealing with some of those same feelings. She cut a wide path around the males of the group and seemed to pay the ex-Turk no mind as she hurried to catch up with the other female.

* * *

Ice set as brisk a pace as possible. She kept an ear slanted back, evidently keeping tabs on Reno and the white male. The red head managed to keep up but not without considerable help from his not so secret admirer. Valentine dropped back and followed at a distance serving as a rear guard. As a result he was the last to pass through three different sets of doors that Ice had to code in to open. He could not control the visceral reaction that had him freezing up when he realized that the female had led them into what looked like a high security containment lab. The large, open room had nine stasis chambers lined up against a far wall. Seven had been opened. The other two were shut and the panels that flashed on their hatches indicated that they were still functional. The whole facility must have had some type of self contained power unit as the lights and ventilation systems still seemed to be working.

Various glass fronted cabinets lined the other walls, all packed full of a variety of medical and surgical supplies. There was one heavy, exam table that had been unbolted from the floor and pushed in front of the opened chambers. Oddly, there was a chair and blood drawing table set up and what looked like a centrifuge not to far from it. The gunman hurried after Ice, his skin crawling, as she trotted through this room leading the group to a door on the far wall. After passing through a small decontamination room, then a hallway, the next door opened into what was probably at one time the lab's crew living quarters. A large common room was occupied by several computers, comfortable furniture, a stereo system and off to one side what looked like a compact kitchen. On a long table by the kitchen were five or six good sized cages and Vincent was surprised to realize that they were occupied by white lab rats, several to each cage.

Ice had stopped in the middle of the room and just stood for a moment watching her "guests." Reno dropped with a groan onto one of the room's couches and Whisper settled on to his haunches on the floor next to the Turk's bare legs. The wedge shaped head slowly turned as he gazed around with undisguised curiosity. Yuffie separated from Ice's side and went to investigate several other doors.

A soft huff from Ice jerked Vincent's attention back to the golden female. She slipped over to the kitchen and flipped a cabinet open. The gunman approached slowly so as not to frighten her and saw that it was full of canned foods and Military Emergency Rations. The female gave him a close lipped smile and opened another, it was full of bottled water. Then she carefully slid around him and opened one of the rat cages. Fishing around for a moment, her hand came out holding a couple of wriggling pinkies which she popped into her mouth like candy. Catching his slightly shocked look, which she evidently misconstrued, she caught a couple of the adult rats by the tail and offered them to him. All the while slowly chewing her mouthful. The gunman swallowed hard as the Galian beast perked up, definitely interested in the offer.

"No thank you..."

He shook his head and couldn't help the reaction that had him putting his hands behind his back.

"Hnnn...maybe some one else would like one?"

Ice blinked her silver eyes at him, then shrugged. She swallowed, or tried to swallow her mouthful, then gagged and continued chewing as she offered the rats to Whisper. The albino did not hesitate, he accepted the offering, broke the rat's necks, stuffed one in his mouth and offered one to Reno.

The red head paled a little,

"It's a hard choice, but I had better stick with the M.E.R's."

Vincent tossed the man a ration as the big male finished off his rats. The faster Reno regained his strength, the faster they could head back to the surface.

Yuffie stuck her head back through one of the doors.

"Hey there is a shower back here and it has HOT water...anyone want to clean up?"

Ice's head snapped up, as if she had just remembered something. She finally managed to swallow her snack as she scooted over to a small fridge. The female rummaged around in it for a minute than shut the door and reached to hand the gunman what she had found. Vincent almost stuck his hands back behind his back before he realized that the creature was offering him a syringe.

Yuffie shot forwards,

"Oh... PLEASE... tell me that is what I think it is."

Her honey eye's shimmered with hopeful tears. Ice's eyes narrowed, her nose twitched and her lips wrinkled as she huffed softly. Vincent got the impression that the female was laughing as she nodded at the excited ninja.

Reno levered himself off of the couch and headed for the door the ninja had come out of.

"Yo...I am going to go get cleaned up."

* * *

Vincent was a little surprised, he got the distinct impression that the Turk that everyone thought was so callous was giving Yuffie a little privacy so that she could Change with less of an audience. The gunman couldn't keep a small smile from quirking his lips as Whisper got up, winked a red eye at him and casually sauntered after the red head. Evidently the big white male could care less if Reno needed privacy for his shower or not.

Valentine turned the syringe slowly in his hand watching the light glimmer off of the needle. He hated needles and the fact that he was GIVING the shot rather than receiving it didn't change that fact one little bit. Yuffie had plopped herself down at his feet and her enthusiasm had morphed into distinct discomfort. She was rubbing her neck with one broad stubby fingered hand, probably remembering the last two unpleasant times she had been injected by Ice. The gunman flashed a look at the red maned female who had slipped by them and was feeding and watering her rats.

"Ice...?" she looked at him curiously, "Does this have to be given in the neck?"

The Were-Beast shook her head.

"_It can be given anywhere there is good muscle_."

Mane covered shoulders shrugged.

"_It just works faster if it is delivered close to the brain_."

The man knelt by Yuffie,

"It's your choice Yuffie, The neck is fastest but I can give this anywhere you have good muscle."

A deep rumble from Chaos distracted him,

"HMMM.. HER TIGHT LITTLE RUMP WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO ...STICK... HER!"

Vincent managed a choked,

"Shut up Chaos!"

But he couldn't help but look at the...nice... thick muscling on her hind quarters. Even in this beast form, he found Yuffie to be very attractive.

The young woman didn't miss that look. She hitched her rump away from him.

"NO WAY Vinny! You are NOT touching or sticking ANYTHING in my ass!"

Something in those slanted honey eyes gave the gunman the impression that Yuffie very much would NOT have minded him touching her rump, despite her protesting. The girl's silver and black body spun around as an odd choking sound came from Ice, she had her hands clamped over her muzzle and her eyes twinkled.

"And don't you be laughing...monkey girl...,"

Yuffie looked ready to cry.

"This is going to hurt way too much to be funny!"

Vincent shifted back a little as the gold and red female, looking instantly chagrined, scooted forward to sit next to him. She reached out at the same time to hug the ninja. Her broad tongue swiped across Yuffie's long, striped face and her honey eyes, causing the girl to squeal "GROSS!" and then break down in a fit of giggles. Yuffie stuck out her arm, not letting go of Ice.

"Go for it." Was all she said.

Vincent slid the needle in and emptied the syringe's contents into her shaking arm, all the while trying to ignore the young woman's slight hiss and his own rolling stomach. Chaos kept any snide comment he could have made to himself. The dark demon hated needles too.

Yuffie was so tense waiting for the pain to hit that she was shaking. Ice tried to move away from her and the ninja could not help the little whimper that escaped as she unconsciously dug her claws into the other female's thick mane, preventing her from leaving. The young woman didn't even think of what the consequences would be if Ice were to feel trapped and panic. The golden female pushed her back a little and her hands flowed through their, to Yuffie, indecipherable dance.

"Vincent..." she was upset enough that she used the gunslinger's given name. "I can't understand her."

The gunslinger settled his cloak over Yuffie's shoulders and translated for her.

"She said... _don't tense up, it is just pain...pain won't kill you...learn to ride it out_."

"Hmph...that is easy for her to say!"

"_No, it isn't easy for me either. It is just a matter of training yourself to ignore the pain, much as you would ignore the...hiccups._"

The ninja slashed Valentine a desperate look. His crimson eyes slid away from her, and Yuffie could have kicked herself. She wondered how many times the ex-Turk had wished that pain could kill while under Hojo's scalpel. GODS…she really should learn to watch what came out of her mouth.

The female tapped Yuffie, and forked two fingers at the woman's honey eyes and then her own silver eyes. She pantomimed taking a deep breath, then Changed. Ice slowed it down to a crawl and showed Yuffie how to relax her limbs and muscles to help facilitate the shifting bones. The young woman stared, totally mesmerized as the Were-Beast shifted to human and then back to her beast form. The blood stains and drying bug juice that the female had not shaken off earlier, just fell away... that was pretty cool.

Still... the girl could see the pain reflected in those silver eyes. Yuffie could not help flinching when that first under the skin itch started. Ice snapped her fingers, drawing the girl's honey eyes back to her silver ones. Yuffie concentrated on matching the female's deep breaths, as again, Ice Changed...but this time the Were-beast matched her pace to that of Yuffie's Change. It was still terrible, Yuffie could not suppress a small moan, but it DID help to watch and copy what the experienced Were showed her. The warm comforting hand of Vincent making slow soothing circles on her back (UNDER the cloak) didn't hurt either. The girl was proud when that she kept complete control of herself until it was done. Ice gave her a congratulatory nod and shifted from her almost naked human form back to that of the beast.

Yuffie snagged her arm before the Were could go back to her chores.

"You are beautiful as a woman...why do you Change back to the form of a beast when you don't have to?"

The girl noticed that Vincent's hand had stopped it's movement and she almost growled in disappointment.

Ice lifted her lips slightly,

"_This BEAST form is my natural body and I... LIKE... it. The human body is pretty much just...camouflage._"

Yuffie got the feeling that maybe she had insulted the creature. (geez, talk about open mouth, insert foot)

The golden female snorted derisively, poked the ninja's arm and before the girl could react, used one sharp claw to carefully lift Yuffie's lip, exposing her even white teeth.

"_Besides, this body is fragile and practically defenseless. To wear it down here, would be very...unsafe_."

Her slanted silver eyes narrowed,

"_There are two more doses in the icebox. They should last approximately six to eight hours a piece. Since you prefer your HUMAN form, you will need to inject it at the first flush of Change, it should halt the transformation_._ Just be aware, it will be a while before any more can be produced_.

Huffing softly, Ice turned her back on them and disappeared into one of the other rooms.

Yuffie, still a little shaky, was more than happy to let Vincent help her to her feet.

She could feel his deep voice rumble in his chest.

"You need to eat something and then get some rest."

Yuffie grinned and poked him in the chest,

"Who made you boss?...Maybe... I want to go take a shower with Reno and Whisper!"

She was surprised to feel another soft rumble as he growled silently. Geez, she was kidding! Although a wet, NAKED Reno... CRAP! As if he could read her thoughts, Valentine's arm tightened and he rumbled again. Yuffie wondered if he even realized he was doing it.

She leaned against the gunman as he helped her over to the couch, enjoying his warmth and the sense of security that he unknowingly generated inside of her. Watching the man covertly while he heated some of the canned soup, Yuffie's submerged Were side instinctively came to the conclusion that, where as ANY male would do to bring her out of heat...THIS Alpha was the one that she wanted. The girl didn't even realize she was nodding as her human side whole heartily agreed.

* * *

Cloud had to work hard to subdue the instinctive terror that threatened to overwhelm him when Rude opened the door to Shinra's research labs. Sure, the clean and orderly set up, combined with the absence of bloodied lab coats made this a far cry from the horror house that the mansion had been. But the ever present chemical smell that seemed to hang around any medical or science lab was enough to make the swordsman physically sick. Rude studied him from behind his shades. (Yes... the big man had put them on the minute they entered the building)

"Hey man...you going to be okay?"

Cloud's curt nod didn't seem to satisfy him but he shrugged and stepped back, giving the blond some space. By concentrating on taking deep breaths, Cloud got his nausea down to a manageable level only to have his heart jump onto the back of his tongue when a strong hand dropped on his shoulder. It took everything he had as he spun around to NOT draw his sword. Which was a good thing, because if he had, the grandmotherly looking woman who had touched him probably would have had a heart attack.

"Goodness!"

Twinkling green eyes smiled at him from behind wire rimmed glasses.

"It seems we have someone afflicted with Shinra-phobia."

Her lips curved in a gentle smile. "Believe me...it is not as uncommon as you might think."

Cloud scratched at the back of his head and self consciously tried to smooth his spikes down.

"Sorry...I just get a little jumpy.."

"Tsk Tsk...young man, you have nothing to apologize for." The woman patted his arm as she walked past, then, as she caught sight of Rude, she slowly turned.

"Oh ….you are one of the young men who was bringing in the young woman and the female?"

The gray haired head tilted as she wrinkled her nose. "I understand there was a problem. I hope everyone is okay?"

Cloud just blinked...this woman did not look or act like any scientist he had dealt with before. Only the white lab coat marked her as someone who worked here. Her shoulder length gray hair, which was tucked back behind her ears, her slightly chubby pleasant face, and her casual way of talking and moving screamed...Grandma...at him. He wouldn't be surprised if she up and offered him cookies.

Cloud found himself smiling sheepishly at her.

"Lets just say that Ice, the female, has more of a Shinra-phobia then I do. So much so, she jumped out of an aircraft to avoid coming here."

Those green eyes flew wide,

"REALLY...well... I'll bet that was a bit of a surprise to everyone!"

The woman crooked a finger at him,

"Why don't we talk about this in my office? I would bet that you will be a lot more comfortable there."

More than a little bemused, Cloud followed the little woman to her office. Rude turned as Rufus entered the lab and went to make a report. Cloud found himself in a little room which was surprisingly cluttered with pictures and knick knacks. The woman pushed a chair over to him and sat on the edge of her desk. Leaning over she opened a drawer, rummaged around for a minute and came up with a smile and a bag of...cookies.

"Ha, you are in luck. I made these yesterday and no one has found out about them yet."

She snagged a couple out and tossed the bag to a startled Cloud.

"Oatmeal, my favorite," The woman smacked her lips and grinned. "Now, tell me what happened,"

The blond could not believe it when he found himself munching on cookies, (they were very good) and telling the nights events to this grandma scientist who turned out to be a very good listener.

When he was finished, the woman frowned a little and tapped her desk with a short nailed finger.

"Let me see if I have this right. The friend that was bitten, will not come to the labs unless Vincent is with her?" Cloud nodded. "We all know why Valentine has a screaming horror of this place and I can't say as that I blame him."

The green eyes met Cloud's blue ones.

"And this...Ice...made it very clear that she would rather try to survive a six hundred foot fall than come here?" Again the spiky blond head nodded.

The gray head tilted and the woman studied Cloud from half lidded eyes.

"Well...the solution is we don't bring them here."

The astonished swordsman sat straight up. That is not what he expected to hear.

The woman grinned at him,

"Things have changed in this company...much for the better." Her face wrinkled up into a smile. "Shinra mansion has a fully operational lab..."

Cloud could not control the shudder that traveled over his body. The sharp green eyes didn't miss this.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I know horrible things happened there also...BUT...if we do this right the studies we need to conduct can be carried out in such a way that no one who suffers from Shinra-phobia..." again she smiled but there was sadness there, not mirth, "... has to see the inside of the lab. Those poor souls can stay and be quite comfortable in the upper part of the estate."

Cloud just stared, he knew his mouth was hanging open but this was just weird. He had expected to come here and wait for them to bring poor terrified Ice to her doom and poor Yuffie also. This woman was something totally different then what he had been conditioned to expect. The scientist leaned forwards, patted his hand and used a warm finger to shut his mouth.

"Really boy...not ALL of us are heartless, soulless monsters. Come on lets grab Rufus before he leaves and get this arranged, just cleaning that mansion is going to take a few days."

Cloud had to jump start his brain,

"I almost forgot..." he handed the woman Ice's syringe.

When she carefully accepted it, he held out his hand.

"I am Cloud."

The woman tilted her head again so she could look up at his face. She accepted his hand, her smaller one almost disappearing into his calloused one.

"I am Doctor Angelique Destinie...my friends just call me Angel."

* * *

Reno leaned against the shower wall and let the hot spray pound on him. The water had a slight mako taint to it but was probably safe enough as long as you didn't drink it. This shower bay was big enough for three people to shower comfortably and it seemed the hot water was endless. The man groaned in pure pleasure.

An odd scratching sound snapped his head up and the redhead almost fell as he turned too fast and it made his head swim. Even with the rations he had eaten, it was going to take a little while before he was one hundred percent. The Turk blinked water out of his eyes, Whisper stood in the doorway looking somehow...pathetic. As he watched the big male shook out his mane, which was clumped with bug juice, and scratched at a hardening stripe of it on his side. Reno studied the beast suspiciously and somehow the Albino made himself look even more pitiful. (Just how a heavily muscled, knife fanged beastie could look pitiful was beyond Reno's comprehension... but... the big male managed pulled it off)

"FINE...you can join me." Reno pinned the ecstatic male with a hard eye, "BUT...no sniffing of crotches, and keep your TONGUE to yourself."

Whisper pulled his lips back in a closed mouth, humble smile, blinked happy red eyes at him, and hurried in. Reno moved over a little and turned a second hot spray on for the beast.

Reno leaned against the shower wall and just let the hot water run over him as he covertly watched Whisper sit on his rump under the steaming spray. The Turk noticed that the Albino folded his feet so that his long toes rested one on top of the other just as Ice had done back at Seventh Heaven. Reno wondered idly if it was a family trait. The Were's thick, strong tail curved around to help Whisper keep his balance as he lifted his wedge shaped head so that the water sluiced down over his face, head, neck and mane. The white male's red eyes were half closed, almost glazed in pleasure and he made a deep humming sound way down in his wide chest as he used blunt, strong fingers to work shampoo into every inch of his soft white fur. Reno couldn't help but smile, it had been a long time since his jaded senses had enjoyed a shower THAT much. Unless of course, he was sharing it with someone….which he was….CRAP! WHERE had that thought come from? He was NOT into bestiality. (was he?)

The smile returned to his lips as he watched the white male turn a circle trying to reach THAT spot in the middle of his back. It changed to a grin as the beast circled again, hum changing to a disgruntled growl. The man knew how hard it was to reach that spot and HE didn't have a thick mane there to contend with.

Reno pushed away from the wall.

"Yo….why don't you let me get that for you?"

Whisper stood up to his full height, turning to face the redhead. The man could not control the reflex that had him stepping back. Hell…the Were was every bit as tall as he was and twice as wide. That dagger toothed muzzle was way to close to his face for comfort. Whisper must have sensed his apprehension, the male stepped back a little and Reno sucked in a breath as Change rippled over the white body. The albino stopped the transformation short of being completely human, or maybe…Reno thought….the male was not capable of looking as totally human as Ice….It did not matter, what faced the Turk was stunning in an exotic way. Thick white lashes framed the tilted, crimson eyes that blinked shyly at him out of a high cheek boned, wide, pale face. Feathery, frosty eyebrows winged up, instead of arching over, giving the male a slightly raffish look. The long, slightly flat nose, strong jaw line, and small defined chin gave the impression of a slight muzzle and when Whisper smiled in nervous reaction to his stare, there was an alluring hint of elongated eyeteeth behind the thin pale lips. The Were's legs lengthened and his thick torso shortened and slimmed. As a result, he kept his height, but his arms, shoulders and chest lost a lot of their bulkiness, the musculature slimming, becoming more refined and chiseled. The mane flowed over his head, (pointed ears peaked out, parting the snowy locks) then over his neck, and shoulders to cascade down to his slender waist where it ended at his narrow hips in a point aimed at the thick base of the heavy white tail. (Oh yes….the tail was still there!) And the butt it drew your attention to was a nicely shaped, firmly muscled one at that!

Reno couldn't help himself, there was softly curled fur on the broad white chest (well, well, well, four nipples did seem to be the norm with these guys!) and his gaze traveled down to the male's belly button (which was situated in a rippling, flat, hard belly) and surreptitiously followed the wavy, longer fur as it formed a happy trail to good sized, remarkably pink genitals nestled in silky white curls.

The man didn't think, he reached out and slid a hand down one long, well muscled…. arm. Yep, his first impression had been right, there was still fur over the skin, but it was so short that it felt like nothing more than the most expensive, sensual velvet. The Turk realized that Whisper had Changed to appear less threatening and it had worked. The end result was a being whose humanoid form was as beautiful as the beast form had been intimidating. The close mouthed smile and huge puppy eyes that the albino turned on him were as far from threatening as they could be.

"Would you…PLEASE? I have not been completely clean in years, and who knows if Ice will let me back in here after you leave."

There was a definite note of pleading in that tenor tone.

Eyebrows arching in surprise, Reno poured shampoo into one hand and twirled the other hand at the Albino. He didn't have to ask twice. Whisper spun around and crouched a little, making it easy for long, strong, pale fingers to work the shampoo into his snowy mane.

* * *

Ice leaned against the closed door. She was so stressed at having this many strange males in HER territory that her humming nerves made her muscles jump and twitch. Having the little female dumping sex hormones into the air wasn't helping her distressed state any either. One of those MALES needed to get on the ball and take CARE of that….GEEZ it was not like SHE could do anything about it. It was a wonder that they acted like they never got laid when they could not recognize the blatant scent and signs that the little Changeling was putting off. The female closed her silver eyes and ran her hand's down her long muzzle. GODS, she was on her last nerve now, how the HELL was she going to deal with going back to the labs?

Giving herself a little shake, Ice left the door and after a few seconds of digging through drawers and throwing things around she came up with a loose shirt and soft pants for Yuffie. It took a few minutes more to find pants and shirts for the males. Hopefully she guessed the sizes right, there was NO way she was going back OUT with them if they smelled like old dried blood. She snickered mutely, Vincent's clothes were slashed up to the point that they could only be considered rags. The red cloak had seen better days BEFORE his involvement in this. The female folded everything neatly on the bed and gave the pile a little pat…there….. Lowering herself down on her belly Ice slid under the bed, there was one last item she needed to retrieve.

She lay still for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Ice did not mind it, the female had actually spent many nights sleeping under here, especially after Sergeant had been caught. For some reason the close darkness made her feel safe. The briefcase she was after was clear back against the wall at the head of the bed. Snagging it, Ice started to wiggle back only to freeze when her preternatural eyesight picked up the ruby gleam of small eyes…..Maybe one of her rats had gotten out? Nope, there were EIGHT of them and they were attached to a plump hairy body with eight long articulated legs. Sucking in a deep breath, Ice forced herself to remain calm. Sergeant had always maintained that the creepy crawlies were NOT out to get her. As she slowly scooted back she almost believed him, until the damned ugly thing darted forwards in that disgusting creepy way THEY had of moving, it ran right up and over her long muzzle.

That was all it took, her last nerve fired and blew her intelligence right out of the proverbial window. Forgetting where she was in the sheer need to get away from that leggy, creepy thing, Ice shot straight up. Her head and shoulders cracked against the queen sized bed, lifting the thing completely off the floor. She left wisps of cinnamon mane stuck in the springs as she shot backwards, releasing the briefcase. The panicked female almost made it, but unfortunately the bed dropped back down, the edge of the frame catching her across the top of her head. This smacked her jaw into the floor. Operating on pure adrenaline and seeing nothing but white stars, the female did not register when Vincent kicked the door open. Rocketing backwards she caught him at knee level and wiped his legs out from under him. Leaving him in a sprawled pile in the doorway, Ice continued out of the room, then launched herself over the back of the couch where she proceeded to burrow under the blanket with a screaming Yuffie.

* * *

Vincent had been microwaving soup when there was a loud thump from the room that Ice had disappeared into. It was followed by a horrendous crash. Flowing across the room, Vincent didn't slow down to open the door, he just gave it a good, hard kick. The man had just enough time to register Ice's form as she took him to the floor. Rolling and drawing Cerberus at the same time, (he could not imagine what had caused the female's panicked flight) he swept the room with a hunter's senses. There was nothing there.

He was dragging himself to his feet when the door of the shower room slammed open and Reno came sliding out, EMR in one soapy hand, pistol in the other. Other than soap suds the red head was quite nude. The being's form that shot out behind him was almost obscured by bubbles but the narrowed red eyes were recognizable as Whispers. The two naked males joined Valentine in the doorway.

"What the hell…..?"

Reno looked confused but did not let his guard down.

Vincent's eye's widened a little at Whisper's Changed form but he made no comment.

The gunman shrugged and stepped into the room clearing the doorway for them.

"Something spooked Ice….doesn't seem to be anything here though."

Crimson eyes shifted to catch Yuffie's brown ones as she peered over the back of the couch. The young ninja was studying both of the naked bodies on display avidly. She blushed when she realized Vincent was looking. The girl smiled and shrugged, pointing down at the blanket. Ice had not come out yet.

Vincent returned his gaze to the two wet males,

"Maybe you boys better go finish your shower. We wouldn't want to traumatize Ice anymore than she has been already today, hnnn?"

One elegant eyebrow rose as he swept both forms with a neutral glance.

Reno grinned and rolled his slim hips, he was most definitely a NATURAL red head.

"How do ya know she wouldn't like what she see's?"

Whisper made on odd choking sound, smacked his lips, grabbed Reno by the wrist and dragged the protesting man back to the shower.

Vincent shook his head as Chaos applauded the tremendous backside views.

"DO YA THINK RENO HAS FIGURED IT OUT YET?"

Vincent absentmindedly smiled, he wasn't sure who was in more trouble, the redheaded Turk, or the Albino Were. Checking the room over again, he removed the pile of clothes that Ice had evidently gathered together for them. As he did this, a small wisp of red hair caught his attention. Ahh …. Ice had been under the bed for some reason. His fingers encountered fresh blood on the frame as he knelt down to take a look. Peering under, he could see a briefcase. He slipped it out and carried everything out into the living area.

* * *

Yuffie watched as Vincent placed his armload on a chair,

"Soup dinged…." She grinned, "But Ice has me in a death grip under here and I can't get up to get it."

Her smile faded a little when Vincent held up a finger, the tip of the leather glove was smeared with fresh blood.

The ex-Turk's deep voice was concerned.

"Can you see if she is okay? Maybe she will tell you what freaked her out."

The girl could feel small tremors running up and down the soft furred body that was pressed tight to hers under the blanket. Ice's fingers and toes made odd kneading motions against her bare waist and thighs. Lifting the blanket a little, Yuffie peeked in at a sad sight. She could barely see Ice's wedge shaped head but what she could see was bloody. Lifting the edge a little more Yuffie let in enough light that she could see a long, deep cut already closing just above Ice's eyes. The Were had those eyes closed, and was balled up as tight as she could get. The most pathetic thing was the tail that was stuffed in her mouth. It looked like she was chewing on the tip.

"Ummm…Vincent….. physically she looks okay, but mentally….. I don't think Ice is at home right now."

The ninja lifted a hand as Valentine started forwards,

"Vinny…The poor thing has been drugged, kidnapped, jumped out of an aircraft, and done an aerial dance with Chaos….all in one day." Yuffie shuddered here. "Add that to being chased by that monster thing, playing catch with Reno, fighting those bug things (which she has a probable phobia about) and worrying about going back into Shinra's labs, to having to bring all of us, the people who are responsible for this whole rotten day, into her safe haven …(such as it is)"

Yuffie watched Vincent's usually impassive face settle into unhappy lines and his crimson eyes looked miserable. She didn't feel all that wonderful herself.

"Yeah…maybe we should just give her a few… Ya know?"

"Hnnnn….some rest would do all of us good."

The gunslinger rose and went to the kitchen.

Yuffie slid a hand under the covers and slowly worked her fingers through Ice's tangled mane. It might have been her imagination but the Were's tight muscles seemed to relax a little with the light physical contact. By the time Vincent brought the ninja a bowl of soup, the female's tremors had stopped and she seemed to be asleep.

Under Valentine's watchful eye, Yuffie finished all of her soup, then wiggled around, shifting Ice a little so she could get comfortable. She was NEVER going to be able to sleep…..

* * *

Whisper could not control the slight shudder that ran through him as Reno's deft fingers worked a mat out of his mane.

The man stopped for a minute much to the albino's distress.

"Yo…Am I hurting you?

Whisper tilted his head back and to the side a little so he could see the man's face,

"No….it has just been a long time since someone has touched me.… I have missed it."

Whisper saw an odd look cross the sharp boned face that was bent down as Reno concentrated on what he was doing. Something…sad… flickered in those pale eyes.

"We had better get rinsed off, someone else might want to clean up."

The red head stepped back, sluicing the soap off of his long tall body.

Whisper sighed, and straightened up to do the same. He must not have controlled his crestfallen look well, because the man lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Yo…..don't look like I just killed your puppy. It will be easier for me to get the mats out as it dries."

Reno turned off the water, slipped out of the shower and grabbed a couple of towels off of a shelf. He was wrapping one around his waist when Whisper timed his shake to catch him as he stepped back in. The Were gave the red phased male an innocent look as Reno unwrapped the now sodden towel and replaced it with the dry one, all the time eyeing Whisper with suspicion. The Were went to get his own towel as he grinned a sly, partially open mouthed smile. The Albino had been able to smell the fact that Reno had been hiding the evidence of his arousal behind that towel.

Meeting the odd pale eyes with his own red one's, Whisper made the same rolling motion with his hips that Reno had made earlier. This brought the man's attention down and Reno's eye's widened slightly at the sight of Whisper's penis, (which was still that beautiful soft shell pink) standing proudly at attention.

Whisper huffed softly,

"No need to be embarrassed, the little female is pumping the air FULL of sex pheromones. If your Alpha doesn't do something about it soon, we will ALL be walking around with permanent one's of these."

He waggled his slender white hips again, making that shimmering pink pole sway.

Reno blinked and his tongue tip darted out, ran over one corner of his lips then disappeared. Whisper froze, transfixed at the sight.

The man stepped by him, tugged a lock of the Were's snow white mane and grinned seductively over his shoulder as he headed for the door.

"YO!…..who says I am embarrassed?"


	9. Chapter 9

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 9

Ice awoke to warm darkness and a soft body nestled against her own. She lay quietly for a moment, the sheer novelty of not waking up alone surprising her with its simple pleasure. The Were gave herself several minutes to just enjoy the sensation and to give her mind the time to remember and process the events of the last twenty four hours. Her short term memory sometimes did not work as fast as it should and Sergeant had taken a lot of time with her to develop techniques to help her work around the problem.

Shifting her weight carefully so as not to disturb her sleeping companion, Ice poked her nose out, sampling the air. ALL of the males had a nice, clean, soapy scent that had replaced the odor of blood and battle. The sharp, complex scent of Reno, and the subtlety familiar one of Whisper were, oddly enough, combined. They must be sitting fairly close together. Vincent's unique aura was one of gunpowder, warm metal, and a powerful, underlying tone of HOT spice. The air was also heavily laden with the smell of warm soup. The female wiggled out of the blankets as her stomach forcibly reminded her that the two little pinkies she had munched on earlier, were NOT enough to sustain life.

Ice managed to get Yuffie's fingers untangled from her mane and she quietly vacated the couch. Reno was sprawled out, fast asleep on one of the chairs. Evidently someone had found the clothes that she had laid out before the creepy crawly attack, because the redhead had put on the pants, and his shirt was on, although it was not buttoned.. Whisper was sitting on the floor, between the man's legs, his back against the chair. The Were was also asleep, his head nestled back against Reno's thigh. Ice stared in a amazement. Whisper was in his human form, something that her other brothers would not dare when in the presence of an unrelated Alpha male. The Albino had gone as far as to put on a loose pair of pants. Ice studied the sleeping male for a long minute. Not counting the fleeting encounters that usually involved her fighting or running for her life, she had not been this close to one of her brothers since her euthanasia. And ….she had never seen one in their… adult… human form. Ice huffed softly and smacked her lips. Whisper had matured very….nicely. CRAP! The female shook her mane out and gave the sleeping Yuffie a dark look. She was going to HAVE to jerk Vincent's attention towards taking care of his Alpha male RESPONSIBILITIES!

Speaking of which…..ah there he was. The crimson male had shed his bloodied cloak and changed into the soft dark clothes she had found for him. He was seated at one of the computer tables. He had Sergeant's record case open in front of him. A glimmer of ruby, and she knew that his attention had switched from it to her. Ice winced a little in embarrassment, she vaguely remembered running the man down in her haste to get out of the creepy crawly's general vicinity.

* * *

Vincent had waited for Reno and Whisper to fall asleep before opening the case. This had not taken long. The repetitive motions of Reno running his fingers through the Were's white mane had the beast's eyelids drooping in very little time and the blood loss combined with a warm shower and hot soup had the redhead following shortly after. Yuffie crashed and burned on the couch curled up around Ice's hidden form. Valentine had been up for several days straight and he was starting to feel the strain. Chaos was rumbling very close to the surface, Ice's close proximity a burr in his side. The golden female seemed to bring out the worst in the ancient being. And to complicate things, something had the Galian beast's nerves on edge. Vincent was fighting a constant battle to keep the two demon's under firm control. He certainly would not be sleeping anytime soon.

As the ex-Turk suspected, the brief was crammed full of files and computer disks. Each of the files was marked… PROJECT C. On top of all of this rested a hand written page. He picked it up first. Someone had evidently gone through a lot of trouble to gather all of this together, and having worked for Shinra, Valentine was pretty sure it had been done on the sly. Surrounded by the quiet sounds of his sleeping companions, the ex-Turk settled back a little to read.

…...

…...

"If Ice has given this to you…or you have found it, then it means I, Master Sergeant Daniel B. Muran, am either dead or…. worse. I have instructed Ice to only give this information out if her existence is discovered and she is at risk, or if her siblings have escaped and are out of control. If the latter has happened, well….my apologies and deepest condolences.

Let me start out by making this fact perfectly clear, I am not a scientist or physician. Even so….I feel partially responsible for the members of the Troop. I was brought into the Cerberus Project because I had some skill in taming and training wild animals. I have been the Troop's caretaker from the day they were born, and they respond to me as their Alpha male. As such….I have failed them miserably.

I was an obedient Shinra soldier when this project started and even when I realized that the Troop members were something more than just intelligent animals, I still followed my orders to the letter. Does this make me a monster? I don't know….I am just a simple soldier, not a philosopher. No….that is a cop out. If following orders that you know are inhumane and just plain evil makes you a monster, than I most definitely was one. The day that I euthanized Ice is the day I recovered my humanity.

If Ice is with you, please watch the C.D. marked with her name. It will go a long ways towards explaining some of her odd little quirks….."

…...

A soft rustle from the couch snagged the gunman's attention. Ice's long nose poked out from the covers and after a moment her rumpled head followed suite. Blinking sleepily, she slid off of the couch, her silver gaze scanning the room. Those disconcerting eyes settled on each of the living area's occupants momentarily, and finished by catching the gunman's red stare. The female hurriedly glanced away and headed into the kitchen.

Vincent took a moment to search through the files. He slipped Ice's CD into the computer when he found it. The gunman split his attention, part of his mind focused on the computer screen, the other on the female who was getting herself some soup and mixing a gooey Emergency ration pack with it. Even Chaos shuddered at that particular combination.

The disk, it turned out, was documentation of the Troop member's early training. All of the Were's had the slender gawky, unfinished look of adolescents. Even so…. It was easy to see how the pack or Troop mentality operated. There were three males, a big grey, the brown that Ice had killed and a smaller black that worked together as leaders. A fourth male, a huge, heavy boned, black seemed to be the reason that the three had banded together. None of them alone could have overpowered that one male, but the three working together kept him line. Whisper and another small male occupied the other end of the spectrum.

At the beginning of the disk, there were four females. The grey phased female seemed to be the dominant one here, with a gold sister who had a white mane and a snow white, blue eyed female sharing the second rank. Ice seemed to be the lowest ranked of the female's, a position that she did not seem to mind at all. By the time of the final battle on the disk, the blue eyed female had disappeared. ALL of Vincent's attention was on the disk after the first hour. During the final documented fight , it was evident that Sergeant Muran had forged the now more mature beasts into a truly lethal fighting machine. It took them no time to bring down the behemoth type monster they had been pitted against. Even Chaos was impressed, although his eldest demon wouldn't admit it.

Valentine sat forwards a little as the sound of voices arguing was heard and all of the Troop but Ice, the gray male and the huge black were removed from the arena. The demon's in his head were suddenly silent as the gunman watched the order given for Ice's betrayal and both males jumped her without hesitation. The golden female fought with intelligence and courage but really had no chance against the two much larger males. Vincent breathed a silent sigh of relief when she was smart enough to give the obvious signs of submission before she had been too terribly injured. He choked on that sigh when the big gray male, Ice's trusted brother, crushed and tore through her throat and then picked her up with a heavy shake, breaking her neck without a second thought.

A sudden, deep, SAVAGE growl behind and to the side of him had the gunslinger's hand dropping for Cerberus. Whisper had woken up and hearing some of the disk, he had slipped around to where he could watch it. Even as Vincent turned, the Were… Changed, dropping into his beast form almost as fast as Ice. The big male's lips were pulled back into a deadly smile that showed all four of his massive fangs, clear down to their thick roots, and the red eyes practically GLOWED in bloody rage as they focused on the computer screen. The double click of a hand gun being cocked jerked Valentine's attention back to the screen just in time to see Sergeant Muran put a bullet into the back of the helpless female's head.

"GODS….."

This was a harsh, hissed breath. Reno had joined Whisper in watching the horror unfold.

"GODS…. MY ASS!"

Chaos didn't much like Ice but there was a deadly anger in that soft exclamation.

Vincent slashed eyes that had turned a livid gold towards the Turk. His deep voice had a hard metallic edge to it. Not only was he dealing with Chaos, but the Galian beast was trying to claw it's way out in a mindless rage, and the gunman's control was skating on a very thin edge.

"This shouldn't bother you at all… TURK…isn't euthanasia a part of your job description?"

Reno's hands balled into fists and his pale eyes flashed,

"YO….you ain't got no room to talk….YOU… were taking her back to the labs!"

Whisper's massive head turned towards the gunman, the flash of metal at the white ear tip silencing what ever protest the ex-Turk was going to make. Reno also saw it and his belligerence disappeared. A look of apology flashed across his sharp boned face.

A soft cough had Vincent and Whisper turning, Ice had silently ghosted up behind them. She was running her blunt fingers through her wet mane. Leaning a little to look over the gunman's shoulder the female gave an odd little shrug.

"_Sergeant didn't use silver… sneaky Alpha. He used plain lead. The bullet scrambled my brains up pretty good, my memory can be really spotty at times, and I woke up with the mother of all head aches. But….that's better than being dead."_

The female's calm acceptance of her betrayal totally defused the anger that was swirling through the room. Reno sagged, running his hands over his face. Whisper was shaking, his mane sticking out all spikey and he kept licking his lips as if he wanted to be sick. Vincent sucked in a shaky breath in sympathy, his own stomach was still roiling with the shock of witnessing that sudden violent act.

"Reno…. You really should go back to bed, I would like to head for the surface as soon as possible."

The redhead opened his mouth to protest, but Ice rose to her full height and placing her strong hands on his shoulders, she turned the Turk towards one of the other doors. A slight shove and a pat on the ass got him moving in the right direction. Whisper just stood and watched, until Ice dropped down, slid her head along his, stopping to lick his muzzle with a soothing tongue, then she shoved him a little with her hip. The big white hesitated and then followed slowly behind Reno.

Vincent found himself alone with the female, Yuffie had managed to sleep through the whole incident. Ice studied his face for a long moment and he must not have hidden his own distress at all. The female ambled over to him, rose up to put one hand on his knee and to his total surprise, her long muzzle swung up to slowly lick his cheek. Her tongue was slightly rough and remarkably dry. When he did not pull away, she switched to his other cheek and then paid particular attention to his closed eyes. It was….soothing. As the gunman found himself slowly relaxing, the Were slid her cheek along his, then rested that long lower jaw on his shoulder. The soft huff that she made riffled his hair and tickled his ear. Vincent rested his cheek against her soft mane, he felt her thin ear twitch as he whispered,

"I am so…. Sorry…. Ice."

Another soft huff, and she stepped back.

"_I know that this is not your fault." _Her lip curved in a close mouthed smile. _"Just don't expect me to accept any honeyed TEA from you anytime soon." _

Yuffie stirred and both of them looked towards the sleeping girl. Ice tapped the gunman's arm getting his attention.

"_Vincent…..we MUST stay here until you take care of Yuffie."_

"What?"

The ex-Turk was totally confused, taking care of Yuffie was the reason they were ALL down here.

* * *

Shadow was tired. Ghost had come roaring in earlier, totally incoherent with fear. It had taken Vixen the better part of half an hour to get the small male calmed down enough for them to find out what had frightened him. The news that Sergeant had broken out of his long self confinement was dire enough to get even Titan's mane fluffed out and spiky.

Steel had gone so far as to move the HOME den clear up out of the underground and into the ruins above. All of the males had some difficulty traversing the girders but they did not complain. If they were having a hard time getting around, then surely something with the huge mass of Sergeant would not be able to get to them.

To make matters worse, with Lahar dead, the two dominant brothers were having to do double duty. Not only did they have to worry about their old Alpha being loose, they had the very real worry of Titan making a bid for leadership. The big black was already watching for a chance to catch one of the dominant team alone. If that happened….Shadow shuddered slightly, he knew he had no hope of defeating that particular sibling if it came down to doing one on one battle.

Steel was back at the den curled up asleep with Vixen. He had sent Titan back out to patrol the outer edges of their territory and Shadow had orders to make sure the area close to the den stayed secure. The dark brother took a little comfort in the fact that he was close enough that if Titan doubled back and tried anything, he could call for help. The black snorted and rubbed his muzzle, maybe they would get lucky and Titan would run into Sergeant. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Shadow made it up to a high vantage point and planted his rump. He looped his tail for security and folded his long toed feet one on top of the other. From here he could see all of the avenues leading to HOME. The big black turned his head up, gazing at the overcast sky. It was almost always overcast here, but occasionally he got lucky and was able to see the stars. The male idly ran his fingers through his mane. He had spent his entire life either confined by the walls of a lab or roaming these desolate ruins. This is what the Troop called HOME, but in his heavy heart Shadow know that this just wasn't right. Somewhere there had to be a place with open spaces and free flowing winds. Maybe there would even be another Troop like themselves. They just did not know how to find it. Shadow chuffed softly, chastising himself…. If wishes were fishes…as Sergeant use to say. Golden eyes gleaming, the big male smacked his lips in pleasure. It seemed tonight was one of those nights that he got lucky, the clouds had parted and he caught the glimmer of early morning stars.

* * *

Whisper stood quietly beside the bed. Reno had not hesitated to curl up under the covers, and he had intentionally turned his back to the Were. Which was fine by him. The Albino was more than a little confused. Vincent had been angry at what he had seen of Ice's past, but the Were sensed that the anger that he had thrown Reno's way ran much deeper than that. Why was this Troop's Alpha male holding on to such fury at a subordinate male? Steel would have just beat the crap out of him and they all would have moved on, anger dealt with and then forgotten. And what had Reno meant by Vincent taking Ice back to the labs? He could not imagine his sister willingly returning to life as a specimen. Sure….this place wasn't paradise….but it was a HELL of a lot better than being strapped down to a steel table, poked, injected…Whisper's ears sank flat and he made a concerted effort to steer his mind away from THOSE particular memories. Turning away from the bed, he headed back out of the door. He really needed to talk to his sister.

* * *

Vincent stared at the female in total confusion. The fact that he could hear the Galian beast snickering quietly did NOT help the feeling of unease that swept over him. Ice snapped her fingers in exasperation, drawing his wandering attention back to her fluid hands.

"_One of the first things that happens to a first generation FEMALE Changeling is that she will go into a full heat. This guarantee's she will be bred by the Alpha male and be accepted by the Troop."_

The gunman's mind stuttered to complete halt, he was pretty sure his mouth had dropped open but right at the moment he just didn't care….Yuffie was in HEAT?

Chaos roared with laughter at his shock,

"OH YES….LETS TRANSLATE THAT! IT MEANS… SHE IS WANTING SOME NOOKIE…..LOOKING TO GET LAID….OUT TO GET A LITTLE TAIL….OR IN "LAY…MAN" {PARDON THE PUN) TERM'S….JUST PLAIN HORNY!"

"Gods…"

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose with a shaking hand, he lifted the gauntleted one up in a warding gesture.

"That can't be possible. Yuffie is a human. We…don't….have heat cycles."

Ice's silver eye's flew wide,

"_REALLY? How do your females handle the trauma of sex?"_

The female slowly sat back on her rump, face creased in a look of unabashed curiosity, clearly expecting an answer.

The gunman felt like he was wading deeper into quicksand, What the hell did she mean by… trauma?

There was a soft rumble from the door of Reno's room. Whisper padded forwards a little.

"It doesn't matter how human females deal with sex. Yuffie is a Changeling now, her body is following Were instincts. Our females are designed to deal with HAVING to breed with dominant males. Whether they want to or… not… has no bearing. If a male wants sex, the subordinate female has no choice but to submit."

Valentine's mind was reeling, and he could not keep all of the disgust out of his voice.

"Human's call that rape!"

Those broad white shoulders shrugged.

"In our society, that term has no meaning. Don't give me THAT look! We… are NOT human!"

Whispers lips curled up, dagger fangs emphasizing that point.

"After their first cycle, our females can trigger a heat whenever they need to. If the Alpha makes a sexual advance, the female brings herself into heat. This way, there is no fighting and the female avoids being damaged by an irate male. Usually the ONLY male who would make an advance is the Troop Alpha, unless he has given another male special privileges. If a subordinate male dares to illicit sex without that permission, the female would still submit. The Alpha would kill the male and any offspring of the pairing, but the female would be safe, she is protected by the fact that….she has no choice."

The Galian beast stirred.

**"Master of mine….can you not SMELL the fact that they are just laying out the facts? Yuffie is almost in full heat, If you go OUT now….any male within five miles will be able to smell her…and they WILL come."**

Vincent's head unconsciously swung towards the sleeping girl. Yes… as a matter of fact he COULD smell her. That tantalizing, seductive perfume had been enticing the Galian beast, enflaming Chaos and slowly eating away at his control since they had left the bar. The ex-Turk just had not been willing to accept that fact. He looked towards Ice who was nodding in agreement with what her brother had said.

"_Vincent….if you don't deal with this, it will get to the point that …ANY…male will do! Yuffie will go LOOKING for a mate. It will not matter if it is you, Reno, or even one of my brothers…." _

The gunman's head snapped around, crimson eye's flashing as he unconsciously moved with a predator's grace until he was between Whisper and the sleeping woman. The man was so overwhelmed with jealousy and then lust as his already shaky control crumbled, that he did not realize that his lips had pulled back, showing white teeth that had started to elongate.

* * *

Chaos was known for his quick temper and rage, but he was also a cunning being. He had felt the human girl's changed pheromones playing havoc with his host's control for hours now. The demon had not fought Vincent too terribly hard when he had exerted his control after their fall into the ruins. And the demon had not tried to push his way out during the fight with the bugs, even though his host's body had taken quite a bit of damage. The dark one had patiently bided his time, waiting for an opportune moment. Vincent was very tired and had almost slipped when his emotions had surged while watching that disk, but even then the Demon Lord had waited. This time though, when the man's anger, jealousy and lust shot to the surface at Ice's words, Chaos rode it up, smashing through the barriers that Valentine used to contain him. Vincent's control was sucked up in that whirlwind of emotion and Chaos roared with the pleasure of getting OUT. He had a bone to pick with that sharp clawed… biting…sneaky….monkey girl! Most preferably…. her bones!

* * *

OH….SHIT….was the only coherent thought that popped into Ice's head as the evidently very upset form of Vincent dissolved into a red and black mist. Wings the red and black of drying blood sprang out of that mist and lurid gold eye's pinned Whisper were he stood. The white male was not stupid. He averted his red eyes, dropped his shoulders and, rolling his head, he submitted, exposing his soft throat. Ice breathed a silent sigh of relief and also one of despair. She could not expect help from her brother. Whisper knew who the Alpha was here. The demon's hot gold eyes turned to appraise her and the female could see nothing in them but anticipation and rage. Ice shifted slowly sideways trying to move closer to the door. The big winged male flowed into position to stop her. CRAP!

Heavy sleeper that she was, Yuffie must have been woken up by the demon's first roar, and unfortunately the girl let a small whimper escape. The male's gold eyes immediately dropped to her partially uncovered form and some of the rage that was reflected there, turned to lust.

The Were female KNEW that there was no way the woman's fragile human body could handle this very large, powerful male. GODS….he made her brother's look small, even Titan. If Ice could have spoken and Sergeant were here, the female would have gotten a beating. The man had always hated profanity. Fuckfuckfuckfuck was what she was screaming in her own head as the female launched herself forwards, hit the back of the couch and using all the considerable strength in her powerful legs she rocketed right into the middle of that wide, heavily muscled chest. Ice was not very large in Were term's but she was nothing but compact muscle and dense bone. Her weight and momentum knocked the surprised demon right off of his feet. He landed with his wings pinned underneath him and her heavy form sprawled across his front. The Were said a short prayer that this would not be a lethal mistake and as she Changed….. she triggered herself into Heat.

* * *

Whisper had frozen in panicked shock as the tall, pale form of this odd little Troop's leader disappeared and was replaced by a winged terror who SCREAMED Alpha from every pore. As those wicked gold eyes pinned him where he stood, the Albino submitted without thinking. He was so frightened he was operating on pure animal instinct. The white heard Yuffie's small whimper of fear. He couldn't blame her. If something as imposing as THAT was showing sexual interest in him, he was pretty sure he would wet himself.

The Were saw Ice shift and he could not believe it when his sister launched herself over the couch and flattened the big male. Whisper's nose twitched as he caught her scent and his jaw dropped. OH MY GODS! His quiet, unassuming, OMEGA sister was making a play for the dominant female position in this Troop!

Whisper flattened down, slithered forwards, and reached over the end of the couch. Powerful hands grabbed Yuffie by the ankles. As she screamed, the male yanked hard, dragging the girl, blankets and all, off of the end. Whisper didn't slow down, he just kept dragging the kicking female until he was through Ice's bedroom door. This he slammed shut, bracing his back against it…just in case! The white male got the second shock of the night when Yuffie surged up and flew into him. The girl managed to throw him off of his feet and he just barely managed to grab her before she could open the door, taking her down with him. The ninja pumped her fists into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Whisper could not contain a savage growl as rolling, he pinned her to the floor using his whole, very heavy body.

"Chaos is going to KILL her….we have to DO something!"

The girl thrashed underneath him, still trying to reach the door. Whisper just shut his eyes and grimly held on until the little hellion wore herself out trying to get away. Then, when Yuffie was reduced to yanking (quite painfully) on his mane, he grabbed her hands and rolled to his feet. The Albino dragged the panting ninja up with him.

"LISTEN…."

His voice was a shaking, whispered snarl. Her fists and knees HAD connected in some VERY sensitive places more than once.

"Ice knows what she is doing."

The male gave the girl a little shake,

"My sister has a hell of a lot better chance of dealing with what's out there and surviving, then you do."

The young woman sagged in his hands, her tear streaked face totally distressed. Whisper sagged a little along with her, he HATED when a female cried. Easing her over, he cracked the door.

"Lets keep an eye on things. If it looks like he really IS going to kill her, well…" the big male shrugged., he wasn't sure exactly what the two of them could do but at least she quieted down as they both peeked through.

* * *

Yuffie had jerked awake, totally recognizing Chaos's roar. The demon was way to close to her for comfort and the ninja had not been able to suppress that first, shocked little whimper of fear. It cut off in her throat when those blazing golden eyes swept her half covered form and she saw naked desire burning there. Yuffie found she could not move. The demon was radiating…something….that held her motionless, hypnotized by terror. Even when the couch shuddered as Ice used it as a springboard, the young woman found she was unable to run. A scream tore from her throat as hard hands grabbed her legs and she was jerked off of the couch. She caught a blur of white and then she was tangled in her blankets staring at Whisper who braced the closed bedroom door with his body, mouth open, panting in fear. It only took a second and then she realized that this…male….had left Ice out there…. Alone…. with a demon who was holding a very serious grudge against her.

Yuffie didn't even think, she hit the white in a move much like the one she had just seen Ice use. Unfortunately, she did not have the female Were's weight or strength and although she DID take him down, she ended up flattened on the ground under the male's very heavy body. That didn't stop her from getting in some very strategically placed blows, making the asshole very aware of her displeasure. When Whisper finally let her up, Yuffie could not control her tears, she just KNEW that Chaos was going to tear Ice into itty bitty little pieces. She doubted even the Were's incredible healing abilities could deal with THAT. Whisper's face seemed to crumble at the sight of her tears, and he relented a little, cracking the door open and PROMISING that if it looked like the demon was REALLY killing Ice….they would think of something.

Peeking through the crack, Yuffie froze when she saw that Chaos had thrown Ice hard against the wall and had her pinned there with a forearm across her chest, talons buried in a shoulder. The girls brown eyes widened when she realized that the Were female had Changed, stopping her transformation at a stage much like Whisper had earlier in the night. WHY had she done that? The beast form was a hell of a lot better suited for fighting. Her confusion increased when the demon dropped his other clawed hand to his waist unbuckling and dropping the protective gear that he wore.

OH MY GODS! Yuffie sucked in a breath to scream realizing at last what was going to happen. Whisper just barely got a hand over her mouth as with a wicked smile, the demon lifted Ice a little higher, used a muscled thigh to open her legs and shifting his hips for better access, he dropped the Were down hard over a huge erection whilst thrusting up. Ice's head snapped back, lips lifting in a pained, soundless snarl. Yuffie bit deep into the pink palmed hand across her mouth, this was worse than watching what the black beast had done to her friend. Whisper swore, but did not let her go. His light voice hissed in her ear.

"NO….we cannot interfere. My other sisters did NOT find their first time's pleasant either, but they survived. Let him finish and we will do what we can for her… afterwards!"

The young ninja struggled ineffectively against Whispers restraining arms as Chaos drove hard into the soft body riding him three times. Ice pushed at the wide shoulders with weakening hands and it was very evident to Yuffie that the Were was riding the very edge of consciousness. Then….the demon just stopped. The watching pair could see the muscles in his back and legs trembling. Ice stirred, almost closed eyes slowly opening.

* * *

The Galian beast was young compared to Chaos. He was not a weak creature, he just had never really been presented with a reason to challenge the ancient being's total dominance. The Were demon had been intrigued by Ice from his first sight of her and when he felt the Demon Lord make his bid for freedom, the Galian beast had quietly ghosted out with him. Lurking in that powerful creature's mind, the beast was desperately trying to put together a plan to save Ice's life (Galian doubted that Chaos would, or at this point… COULD… exercise the control needed to NOT lethally harm the female) The Were demon knew from experience that Chaos almost always killed while engaged in sex. (Hojo HAD been a perverted asshole) Evidently female's of the demon persuasion were as iron tough as their mates, and Chaos had not had enough experience with the fragile forms of this world to learn to adjust his strength. (NOT that he really wanted to!)

As the great beast silently watched, the ancient demon sheathed himself in the female with no preparation what so ever. The Galian beast felt her barrier break and also felt her tear at the brutal entry. Ice's head cracked back against the wall, her inexperience giving her no warning to brace herself for the pain of this first time. The Were demon's own rage came boiling up and as Chaos slammed himself into her thrice more, the Galian beast surged up, vying for dominance.

* * *

Chaos had been contemplating Valentine's tasty little morsel when the Were female had surprised him…AGAIN…by launching into an attack. REALLY…. was she suicidal or just plain fucking CRAZY! The Demon Lord found himself flat on his back looking up into a exotically beautiful face framed in amazing cinnamon colored, silky tresses. As the female shifted her body across his, he could feel her muscles rippling under a skin as soft as exquisite velvet. He could not control his grunt of shock and the slight hiss of pleasure as a firm thigh shifted between his legs and the female rolled her hips, trapping and deliciously squeezing his already firm arousal between their hard bellies. Then as she gave herself a little shake, her mane released an overwhelming seductive, mind blowing scent. What Yuffie had been slowly releasing over the last day was nothing in comparison to the complex and glorious pheromones this mature female purposefully wafted directly into his face. Chaos's mood shifted from a killing rage to overpowering lust in the space of a breath.

Moving with uncanny speed, the dark demon surged up, lifting and slamming the Were female hard against the wall. He did get some satisfaction from her soft grunt of pain as the impact drove the air from her lungs. HE had not forgotten the nasty bite he had received from her. Matter of fact, the demon lifted the unresisting form and dropped his mouth over hers. The shocked look on her face was an unexpected pleasure as he trapped her lips in his, sharp fangs biting into soft flesh. Totally enjoying the taste of her increasing fear and the hot, sweet flavor of exotic rich blood, the demon locked his fangs against hers, preventing her from closing her mouth. He pushed his tongue in, feeling that firm body jerk against him in surprise at the unexpected entrance. Chaos took his time, tasting every bit of her sweet mouth that his over long, dexterous tongue could reach. Gagging a little, Ice twisted her head, unlocking their fangs and the little bitch BIT him….AGAIN! With a shuddering growl, Chaos shifted his grip, using a forearm across her chest to hold her against the wall. When the Were tried to wiggle away he sank the talons of that hand into her shoulder in warning. Ice froze. It only took a moment to unbuckle his belts, removing what had become a painful confinement to a member that was demanding to be sated. Without a second thought, (after all, the creature had precipitated this, Valentine could not complain) the demon lifted the female, shifted himself between her legs and using her own weight as leverage, he brought her down and ran his entire length into her. He was totally caught off guard by her tightness and the barrier that parted before him. Chaos had not expected, with Ice's Primate base and her multitude of brothers that she would still be sexually untouched. The female's head snapped back, cracking against the wall as her body arched against him at the unexpected pain. The Demon could not help himself, the taste of fear and pain, the lingering scent of her Heat and her inner muscles convulsing around him drove him past any reason. With a rumble of pure lust he drove into her hard three more times, watching with half lidded eyes as the shock and pain drove Ice to the edge of the abyss. So immersed was he in his own pleasure, Chaos had almost none of his defenses up when the Galian beast made his presence known.

"**You…Will….Stop!"**

Just because he was young did not mean the Were demon was weak, Chaos's muscles locked up as he found himself in a true battle of wills for supremacy.

"WHAT THE HELL…"

Chaos was pushed into the defensive, having to really work at preventing the Galian beast from forcing a transformation. The Demon Lord wasn't about to give up this rare pleasure though and slowly but surely he fought the beast to a stand still. Even so, the Galian beast managed to dig up enough strength that the dominant Chaos could not FORCE him back into total submission. It did not help when Ice, who was watching his face with slightly glazed eyes, rocked her hips slowly and tightened her inner muscles in a rippling wave, caressing Chaos's hard flesh in such a way that his concentration was totally shattered.

The Galian beast growled.

**"Do you feel that? Ice volunteered to take you on. By doing so she has accepted YOU as her Alpha male. Valentine is taking her to the labs…but you can bet he is going to set some stipulations."**

"AND I WOULD CARE ABOUT THIS…WHY?"

Chaos tightened his grip on the female as she shifted against him.

"**GODS…Has Valentines denseness rubbed off on you? If Ice were to ENJOY this…..maybe she would be a WILLING partner more than just this ONCE."**

Chaos turned this over in his head. It was worth contemplating, Valentine just might agree to letting him out occasionally if it was something that Ice want…unggh. His attention was dragged back to the female as she locked her toes against his calf's and used them to help slide herself up and then down his flagging penis, stirring it back into new life. Her lovely face had a thoughtful, contemplative look.

The Demon Lord felt a slight surge of panic.

"GALIAN, IT HAS BEEN AN ETERNITY SINCE I HAVE HAD A CONSENSUAL LOVER…I DON'T THINK I HAVE THE CONTROL NEEDED TO….NOT…HURT HER."

"**Um hum…I think I have a way that…I…can provide some brakes for you. I have been watching how Ice and Whisper manipulate their Change. If you will let me rise a little, I think I can do a partial transformation like them. YOU will still be in primary control but I will be in the mix enough that I can….assist… If your…Passion…gets away from you again."**

Chaos wasn't sure he wanted ANYONE meddling in his sex life, but when Ice slid a hand behind his back to carefully swirl her fingers around the sensitive juncture of his wings, he released his strangle hold on the younger demon, and braced himself as the great beast rose, triggering a partial transformation.

* * *

Ice had been prepared for this to be a rough and painful encounter. She had seen her brother Steel take her sister for the first time and Vixen had NOT enjoyed the experience. Seeing it, and experiencing it though were two different things. When the winged Alpha had forcibly entered her, Ice had felt like she was being torn in half. The male did not give her the time she needed to adjust her body to accommodate his size or for her healing factor to deal with the damage. By the time he had pulled back and rammed into her the fourth time, Ice was almost incoherent from shock and pain. The male's sudden stillness forced her back into full awareness. Peeking at his face from half opened eyes, Ice tried to figure out why he had stopped. Her brother had not stopped driving into Vixen until he had achieved his release. She was pretty sure that had not happened with this one yet.

With the slight reprieve, her body was able to catch up with her hormones. She still ached inside. The male's length and girth was creating a tremendous amount of pressure as it filled her virgin tightness, but at the same time, it also pressed and rubbed against certain….areas….and that feeling was not at all unpleasant. The female shifted slightly, hissing softly as his grip on her tightened. Fine…experimenting a little the Were slowly rocked her hips, shuddering slightly as the friction caused some very interesting sensations. Using the control she had over almost every muscle in her body, Ice rolled her inner muscles in a tight wave up that thick hard shaft. She was rewarded by a barely suppressed groan and a quick flash of golden eyes.

Ice did not know what was going on in the demon's head, but all of a sudden his scent shifted. The hot spicy smell that she associated with him was still there, but it was overlaid by a scent that was subtly familiar. Her body instinctively recognized the smell of an unknown male Were. That was all it took to drive her back into a full heat. Setting her toes into the male's legs, she lifted herself to rise and then slide down his slightly softened member. It stirred back to life inside her. Ice slid a hand to gently rub at the place where she had so cruelly bitten the male and she froze as she saw the very familiar ripple of Change pass over his skin.

Those great bloodied wings flared out and their color shifted to a deep twilight purple. The male's hard grey skin softened with a blush of very short velvety fur. This was still gray but it was tipped with a rich lilac color. That narrow, angular face widened, and just a hint of a muzzle developed. The Alpha's frame lost a little height but lost none of the heavy musculature needed for battle or flight. Best of all, (at least as far as Ice was concerned) there was a rippling movement inside of her, and the terrible pain/pressure eased off a little as his maleness shifted to a shape and size that her body could accommodate.

Ice panted lightly, trying to ease the sudden wave of nervousness that overwhelmed her. The male slowly lifted a head that was still heavily layered in a long black ruff. Each thick, soft hair in it was tipped in gold giving the impression that his mane was edged in flame. Small horns peeked out of it. Ice found that she was having a very hard time swallowing, not because of the damage to her throat, but because her mouth had suddenly become very dry. Golden eyes returned her gaze but the savage rage that had made them blaze before was tempered with an intelligence as old as time. Those eyes became languid, almost sleepy looking as the mouth that had been demanding and cruel dipped to carefully brush over her eyes. she instinctively closed them, lifting her face slightly as the demon softly kissed her tears of pain away.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter has been edited to fit with in FF's Maturity guidelines. The explicit version can be read at Adult Fan Fiction.

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus 10

Reno had been drifting back to sleep when a savage roar from the other room jerked him out of the bed. He snatched up his E.M.R. and his gun and ran for the door as there was a loud thump from the living area and he distinctly heard Yuffie scream. The redhead stopped when he reached the door. He had not survived as a Turk for so long by being careless. Cracking it open, and peeking through, Reno immediately had to revamp his assessment as to what was happening out there. Chaos had Ice up against the wall, and he was…..Oh CRAP! The Turk did not want to die, but by the Gods if he was going to stand by and watch while…..The man did not finish the thought, he screwed up his courage and prepared to KICK some demon ass.

Just before he slammed the door open, the dark winged form stilled. Reno came to the almost belated realization that Ice had made no move to protest her position. As a matter of fact, the female shifted her weight in a way that could only be viewed as a provocative motion. Reno's legs suddenly felt weak as he realized that he had almost barreled out and ATTACKED Vincent's most powerful demon while the ancient being was getting some rare, very rough, but evidently consensual sex. SHIT! The man slowly closed the door and slid down it as his legs betrayed him and gave out. Then….just because he WAS Reno, he cracked it back open to watch. Who knows, maybe he could pick up a new trick or two.

* * *

With his lips just barely touching the soft velvety fur along the side of Ice's straight nose, Chaos transferred the attention of his mouth off of the female's closed eyes. This was done a little reluctantly, as true to his nature the demon had found her tears to be a rare and tasty treat. He let himself linger a moment, mouth softly brushing and tongue lightly licking her upper lip before he shifted to travel along her jaw line until his lips found that soft sensitive spot just under her ear. The demon nipped at it gently, then flicked the same spot with a strong, warm tongue. Ice's pale blue eyes flew open, as she sucked in a surprised breath. Chaos couldn't help but to chuckle at the total bewilderment he could see there. She must have felt the vibration against the thin shell like edge of her ear because he could feel the delicate pointed thing twitch against his mouth as she shifted her hips. The deep chuckle turned to a soft growl as the rare pleasure threatened to overtake his reason. He would have to rectify that if he expected to last any time at all, the dark one had not been lying to the Galian beast about it having been a VERY long time. Chaos was going to need all of the help the beast demon could give if he was going to bring his lover to satisfaction before slaking his own needs. For that matter…he wasn't sure if…..?

**"Um…I am pretty sure that Ice is close enough to her human form to react like a human female." **

The Galian beast sounded a little unsure of himself.

Oh well…. all The eldest one could do was experiment and find out if the beast was right.

Easing back, the demon slid his arms around, one hand steadying the slim waist, the other cupping a firm, hot butt cheek. He felt the slight shiver that ran through Ice as his warm breath caressed her ear.

"HOLD ON."

It was the demon's turn to shudder as strong arms slid around his rib cage and firm breasts pressed against his chest. The female's long fingers idly kneaded into the soft mane and firm muscle at the junction of shoulder and wings, unconsciously stroking an erogenous zone that she had NO way of knowing was there. DAMN….that wasn't fair.

The Galian beast stirred and a soft murmur whispered through the demon's mind.,

"**Try the base of her tail**…"

REALLY? Chaos slid the hand on her rump over and curled his fingers so that his claws scratched and skittered over the top of the thick base where her tail connected to her spine. The demon was completely unprepared when Ice arched her back in reaction. Long legs locked around his narrow hips, and her pelvis ground hard against his, driving him even deeper into her heat. A soft uhn uhn uhn escaped the female's damaged throat as her inner eyelids flicked closed, glazing those silver eyes to slate. Chaos rocked his hips slightly, making the most out of her sudden enthusiasm. WELL…. That was…nice! The sudden need to mark…to claim…. almost overwhelmed him, but something shifted in his mind, and the demon was able to control the impulse….for now.

Supporting Ice's weight, Chaos eased them over to the couch. It would be a little narrow but with some originality he could make it work. The demon lifted her up so that he could…regretfully…. Ease himself out. Ice made that odd huffing sound and tightened her legs trying to prevent it.

"GREEDY… GREEDY… LITTLE MONKEY…."

Settling one knee on the couch, the winged one eased that amazing body down so that the female lay prone under him, her hip nestled tight against one inner thigh.

* * *

Ice was completely confused. This male had started out truly hurting her, something that was not wholly unexpected. She was prepared to endure the pain and let him breed her, the first goal being that his rage at her insubordination and his earlier humiliation be appeased. And secondly, to show her willingness to accept him as her Alpha. When her sister had done this with Steel, her brother had just mounted the subservient female and had not quit until he was done.

The unexpected action of this male licking the tears off of her eyes was not totally out of the norm. But when his lips, suddenly soft and warm, had traveled over her face and ended up ministering to her very sensitive ear…the sensation that radiated from there to that warm center that was currently filled with HIM was like nothing she had ever dealt with before. It went a long ways towards soothing some of that pressure/pain and replaced it with a sudden….NEED….that she had no idea how to deal with.

When the demon's rough voice ordered her to hold on, Ice's hands developed a will of their own. They slipped around that wide ribcage and luxuriated in the feel of his soft mane overlaid on hard muscles. When one large hand shifted from her ass and tickled across the base of her tail, Ice lost any control she might have had. Her body convulsed against him and a wave a pleasure rolled through her, rippling out from where they were joined….AH HA….so THAT was how you dealt with that need. Before she could do it again though, the male settled them on the couch and did something that she had never seen Steel do before he was satisfied. The winged one withdrew from her, leaving her suddenly, achingly… empty.

Silvery blue eyes widened as the female got her first look at the winged male's naked form. If Ice had seen what arced up in sudden contrast against that dusky flat belly before hand, she might not have had the courage to initiate this. Overwhelmingly curious, the female reached for it with one tentative hand, and the male shifted his hips forwards a little giving her better access. Sensitive fingers slipped over soft satiny skin and the male hissed softly. Ice jerked her hand back fearing she had overstepped herself, but when she looked up into golden eyes, they smoldered with something other than anger.

Without thinking, Ice brought her hand up, first attentively smelling the spicy, musky scent that was HIM, then, deciding that she rather liked it, swirling her tongue over her fingers to capture his taste. The winged one froze, his eyes flared bright, and with a snarling groan, his head dipped down to hers.

What started out as a quiet whimper of desire/fear changed to a soft ungh as the male leaned over her, pressing his lips firmly, but gently against hers. Not wanting a repeat of the earlier invasion, Ice tightened her mouth closed. This time he did not force the issue. Soft lips moved softly over hers, and a hot tongue flicked out, lightly brushing against them. He nibbled and sucked at her bottom lip until the remarkable sensation ALMOST made her want to let him in. One large hand left her waist, traveled lightly over her ribs, and then cupped her breast. That warm mouth shifted to lightly stroke the corner of her mouth. He shifted again, giving the other corner of her mouth the same attention. and damned if his hand didn't follow suite. Ice couldn't help herself, she arched her ribcage up and lifted her chin, giving his hand and mouth better access. So entranced was she by the dual affect of hand and mouth that she didn't feel his other hand slide between her legs, until it was caressing her soft inner thigh.

* * *

Chaos was stunned into stillness as Ice explored him with careful, curious fingers. He could not suppress his soft groan as the female then licked and sucked each finger avidly, evidently enjoying her first taste of HIM. The demon almost exploded as the vivid image rolled through his mind of those soft lips engulfing him, while that strong, dexterous tongue swirled around…..OH MY GODS! He was going to have to try that some other time… when he was sure he trusted the female not to bite that particular portion of his anatomy clean off!

The demon swooped down, trapping that torturing mouth with his. He did not press this time, contenting himself with the slight taste of HER that lingered on her soft lips. As his hand explored gently between her legs, he nibbled and licked along her neck. It was a surprise when she tensed up more having his mouth on her throat then she did having his finger gently stroking her. Of course, as his tongue explored the ridges of scar tissue on that damaged throat, he could understand why. Chaos leaned over and held for a moment, his golden eyes intently studying the expression on Ice's face. The Were's head was tipped back. Her tilted eyes were wide, the pale blue was pleasure glazed to a gleaming silver. He kept his touch gentle and undemanding, giving her the chance to relax and trust that he was not going to hurt her again.

* * *

Ice had no clue what to do with herself. This male's stealthy hands and clever mouth had her body singing with NEED. This time, when he finally filled her, there was no pain, just a sweet, aching wave that caused her to buck up against him in an effort to try and achieve….what? The panting female had no clue, but she hoped that it included more of those surging waves of pleasure as he drew back and thrust into her in a slow, powerful rhythm. Warm lips closed over her mouth again and this time she opened, unconsciously encouraging him, as it mirrored what was going on between her legs. A pressure began to build in the center of her groin as his tongue languidly swept the roof of her mouth then coiled along her own tongue. The male tasted spicy, and hot. Her own tongue darted past his to sample along those sharp fangs and she moaned into his mouth as he added an odd rolling twist of his slender hips to his cadence. A soft... uhhnnn... escaped Ice as that engorged head caught against…something… inside of her with each stroke. She had once disregarded Sergeants advice and curiously stuck her tongue in an electrical outlet. The shock that rolled through every time the demon surged into her was similar, but much more enjoyable. The male shifted his mouth to her ear and his words hissed over its sensitive edge.

"MINE…MINE…MINE!"

At this last snarled word, Ice felt the male slide his hand down her back and lock his fingers around the base of her tail. His talons shivered underneath it then he tightened his fingers into a fist digging hard into the sensitive nerves all around the heavy base. That delicious pressure that had been building, coalesced Ice arched up, hips slamming into his. The wave that fired out from her center engulfed Ice in a blinding white sheet of pleasure and as the demon shifted his rhythm, softening the thrust, accentuating the twist and keeping to a steady pace it was repeated over and over again. Ice thought her heart was going to burst as they started to abate, then the male lifted her hips and surged into her sending a couple more of those intense surges rolling through. As all of her muscles locked up and convulsed she felt as the male's control broke and he lost that smooth flow as he found his release.

* * *

Chaos knew he was pushing it when he claimed the female. The fire in his groin had built to an unbearable almost painful pressure when he locked his hand around the base of her tail. As his fingers pushed against that other sweet tight bud, Ice's back curved up in a bend that almost knocked the demon off of the couch. Her tail curled around his thigh, slid between his butt cheeks and coiled up to press hard against him. The mute female's sweet mouth opened, fangs bared in a soundless scream as she convulsed against him. The demon shifted his rhythm, holding out as long as he could while he immersed himself in the feel of her pleasure. Half way through, she broke his concentration, her tail tightened, and pressed up hard. The demon's talons shredded the couch as the savage pleasure of his climax erased all ability to reason from Chaos's mind. The Galian beast had been expecting this and he had surged forwards just in time jerk Chaos's hands off of the soft body that writhed with passion's pleasure under him. He was not able to prevent the demon from locking his fangs across Ice's soft throat, but he did manage to keep the dominant male from biting down hard enough to do more that just break the skin.

The warm, sweet taste of blood in his mouth brought Chaos back to reality. Ice was passive under him, he could feel her harsh tearing breaths against his teeth and tongue. Very slowly, the female shifted under him and just as slowly, she turned her head, unreservedly submitting and giving him her whole, very vulnerable, throat. Chaos growled against the soft skin and felt her vibrate a little as she growled softly back. Chuckling darkly, the demon DID prefer that his females have a little spunk, Chaos released her, languidly sweeping a soft tongue over the bleeding pin pricks his fangs had created. As he straightened up, he silently thanked the now quiet Galian beast as he saw the ruin his talons had made of the couch. Of course there had been no one to apply the brakes for Ice and the way his back was smarting made him think that it probably mirrored the furniture's condition. Ice watched him with almost closed pale eyes, and as he slid out of and off of her, her hands flowed through a short dance. As the demon tiredly stood up, he snarled over his shoulder.

"SHOULDN'T YOU THREE BE….RESTING?"

There was a double thump as two bedroom doors were slammed shut.

That drew a snicker from the Galian beast.

"**Perverts!"**

Knowing that he only had a few more seconds before Valentine pushed forwards, the demon's golden gaze returned to the quiescent female. Her hands danced again and it took Chaos a couple of precious moments to translate the question in his head. As the black and red mist of his transformation began to form, he answered her.

"MY NAME IS CHAOS… GREEDY LITTLE MONKEY. AND YES….I VERY MUCH PLAN ON DOING THIS….AGAIN."

* * *

Yuffie leaned against the closed door. The young woman's heart was hammering and that annoying itch that she couldn't scratch had turned into a full blown burn. Her glazed eyes settled on Whispers white form. There was PLENTY of visual evidence that the male Were was as aroused and turned on as she was. Whisper caught her eye and his crimson one's flew wide. The male started to back up, shaking his heavy head vigorously.

"Not no….but HELL no! Do I look STUPID!" The Albino male darted past her yanking the door open, "I am NOT fucking you…or him…." his head jerked towards Reno's closed door, "Or, hell, even MYSELF without getting that ONE'S," A blunt finger stabbed out in the direction of a dazed and staggering Vincent, "personal and express permission!"

* * *

Angelique moved slowly through the quiet halls of Shinra Labs. At this time of the morning there were very few staffers here, mostly just janitors and the ever present security personnel. She paused for a moment outside of the level five lab, it always took a couple of minutes to process through the extreme security measures that Rufus had in place. The woman sipped at her hot coffee as she waited for the computer to process her retina scan, and could not control her flinch when the DNA scanner nipped off a minute piece of skin to verify she was one of the few scientists who was allowed in.

The woman had hardly been able to sleep that night…not that she had much time for that luxury. It had taken considerable badgering on her part to get Rufus on board with her plan, the man seemed to think that Valentine would seriously object to doing any type of research in the horror house that the old lab used to be.

It was that nice, young, Shinra "specimen" {the scientist chuckled at the irony here) Cloud who had convinced the President that Ice would strenuously object to being in a full fledged lab, and SHE had far less control than Vincent. Hence, the Were beast COULD cause a serious amount of damage. It would be much better, he had argued, if the beast was kept in a situation that seemed less threatening. (The key word here being….seemed, the Doctor thought.) Cloud had eventually convinced Rufus, and the foolish man had given her carte blanch to do whatever she needed to bring the old labs secreted in the mansion's basement up to current standards. It had taken most of the night to organized the teams and get them out to Neibelheim to start getting the Shinra mausoleum cleaned and prepped. The logistics of getting the necessary equipment shipped had her brain feeling totally fried by the time she got to her cot to sleep.

Angelique broke out in a full fledged laugh which she quickly stifled when one of the guards' slanted a startled look her way. She quickly slipped through the now open door. Cloud had called in a friend to pick up and transport the group to the mansion when they finally surfaced. The swordsman ventured that they wouldn't be able to get the Were female OR the Changeling back into a helicopter. The Doctor secretly thought that she would have just tranquilized BOTH of the specimen's. Who cared what THEY thought? But cunning woman that she was, she kept THAT opinion to herself. She went along with Cloud, as the silly boy had made her plans much easier to bring to fruition. Security at the mansion would be lax compared to what was here. She would use Valentine and the Turk's to bring in and control the females. With those two in hand, she would use Rufus's money and technology to get a handle on the Were's unique virus. If she could figure out how to harness it and overcome that pesky silver problem, she would have the makings for superior soldiers who could not be killed by conventional means. Several of her contacts had made it very clear that they would pay big bucks for this research and the live specimen's. PLUS if she could somehow get some samples from that most rare and unique experiment…. Project V….these people would make her a multi-millionaire several times over. It was an offer that the doctor just could not refuse!

* * *

Vincent staggered as he returned to himself. His muddled mind vaguely recalled that the two Were beast's and himself had been having a very disturbing conversation about sex and Yuffie and then…..Chaos had forced his way out! OH MY GODS! The gunman sank to his knees as the smells that were swirling through the room assaulted his sensitive nose. There was the scent of pain and fear overlaid with the coppery smell of blood. Much more disturbing, was the fact that this was mixed with the unmistakable musk of sexual arousal and the heavy scent that indicated that that arousal had reached completion.

The man clamped his good hand over his mouth as his blurred gaze swept over the couch. What had Chaos/HE done? His stomach heaved as he realized there was a still female form stretched out limply in front of him and those very distinct smells were originating from her. He could see a splash of blood between those long, slightly parted thighs. The ex-Turk's vision was obscured by a gray haze as his mind refused to process what he was seeing.

"CHAOS!…..you BASTARD! What the HELL….?"

Vincent's mind spun…OH GODS….his demon had RAPED Yuffie and probably killed her. His hand tightened over his mouth trying to prevent the scream that was threatening to escape. His other more dangerous hand rose as if it had a mind of its own, reaching for his own throat, wicked gleaming talons curved to rend and tear.

The Galian beast rose and put a lock on his host's muscles,

"**Chaos…. I know you think this is amusing….but if you don't clear this up, we are ALL going to end up trapped in a padded room. Having to wear a funny coat with tied sleeves for eternity will make thirty years in a coffin seem like a cakewalk."**

Chaos grumbled,

"BEAST, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY NO FUN!"

Vincent froze as his muscle's locked up. At that same moment small, but strong hands grabbed the gauntleted wrist. The gunman blinked sluggishly, Yuffie was kneeling in front of him and she was trying to force that deadly hand down. Valentine jerked back in shock…YUFFIE! His surge of relief was short lived…..if not Yuffie… than who? The ex-Turk moaned softly as he realized it had to be Ice and Chaos had most definitely had a grudge against the female Were. Powerful arms wrapped around him from the back, and their incredible strength helped Yuffie push the hand down. The man sagged weakly, and found himself held up from behind against a wide, heavily muscled chest.

Whisper's muzzle rested on Vincent's bare shoulder and he realized that the big male was chanting softly,

"It's okay, it's okay, no harm is done, it is okay!"

Valentine unburied his teeth from his hand,

"It is most definitely NOT okay….Ice…."

"REALLY…. REALLY…. LIKED WHAT I GAVE HER."

Chaos had the gall to sound smug.

The gunman stared in bewilderment into Yuffie's shimmering brown eyes and what she was saying finally penetrated.

"Vincent…. Snap out of it! Ice is okay! What happened between her and Chaos was…,"

The girl swallowed thickly and it wasn't fear he was seeing in her eyes.

"Ice was willing, and I am pretty sure if Chaos wanted to go another round (Chaos rumbled here in hopeful agreement ) Ice would be more than willing!"

The gunman looked around Yuffie and almost dropped his eyes in shame when he met Ice's direct, pale gaze. She had rolled on her side and was watching him with concern. He opened his mouth to apologize and just left it hanging open when what she was saying with those dexterous fingers registered.

"_Oh yes…..PLEASE….will you let HIM out again? I would very much like that_."

The lustful look on her lovely face could only be described as….greedy.

Yuffie turned and her soft lips lifted in a blunt toothed snarl,

"Back off….monkey girl, it's my turn!"

Ice smiled a full gape mouth grin, and yawned, making sure the girl got a full view of her elongated canines. Then she crossed her arms, settled her chin on her wrists, and closed her eyes, making it very clear that she didn't care WHAT Yuffie did. Yuffie's head snapped around and she turned bright red at the look on Valentine's face. Whisper's deep chest vibrated against the gunman's back as the Albino chuckled and a broad white hand released its hold on his arm and traveled up to shut the man's open mouth with enough force to make his teeth click together.

Yuffie's brown eye's practically glowed with irritation. She stood up, not seeming to be at all phased by the fact that she was stark naked in front of the two males. She stabbed a finger at Whisper..

"What are YOU laughing at…Whitey? It seems to me that YOU are the only one in this room who won't be getting any tonight!"

Then she pointed at Vincent

"And YOU had better be joining me…in there. You DON'T want me to be coming back out here after you!"

The ninja stormed over to the door, turning for one more parting shot before she exited the room.

"Oh yes…..and you had better bring ALL of the perverted reprobates you have locked in your head with you….I want as good as Ice got!"

The bedroom door slammed shut on a tantalizing view of Yuffie's very shapely ass.

Whisper released his hold and stepped back a little. Vincent was more than a little thankful when the Albino offered his shoulder for the gunman to lean against when he shakily stood up.

The white male would not quite meet his eyes and there was suppressed laughter under the softly muttered,

"AND now you know WHY I swing the other way."

Vincent shook himself a little, gathered up what was left of his tattered dignity, (after all, that was ALL he had to wrap himself in) and he headed for Yuffie's room. A soft cough stopped him before he opened the door and he couldn't help but wince when he saw Ice's eye's gleaming wickedly as her hands danced.

"_Good luck with her." _The female Were smiled and licked her lips. "_Sex with MY...perverted reprobate...was mind blowingly incredible!"_

OH GODS!

Vincent thumped his forehead lightly against the door. After this, life with Chaos was going to be insufferable.

* * *

Again editing this was difficult.


	11. Chapter 11

This chapter has been edited from the original in order to fit with in FF's Maturity rating. The unedited version can be found on adult fan fiction. This is a fan fiction I make no money from it. Square Enix holds the rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I hold the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original character.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 11

Yuffie sat on the edge of the bed staring at the closed door. She was silently willing it to open and praying for Vincent to glide through with his wonderfully graceful stride. The ninja pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. If the gunslinger didn't come through, she did not know what she was going to do. She wanted…..She needed….DAMN!

The young woman got up and paced to the door. Yuffie hadn't known what her suddenly aroused body was demanding until Chaos and Ice had shown her. Sure…. she had always had romantic fantasies about her first time, (usually involving tall, pale and broody) but they had been TAME compared to what the demon and the Were had engaged in. That had seemed rough, even painful, but it had also been sensual and erotic and….. If Vincent didn't come through that door soon, she was going to go and jump RENO!

OH MY GODS! Turning around, the girl ran back to the bed and threw her body across it. What was wrong with her? She was a normal person, she got horny at times but knowing her responsibility as the only heir to the Wuttian throne, she had always taken care of it herself. She instinctively knew that this time… flying solo wouldn't work. This overwhelming want/need was slowly eroding any control she might have.

Yuffie scooted back against the head board, drew her knee's up, crossed her arms on top, and rested her flushed and heated face against them. What was WRONG with her? She could hear the door open and someone approached the bed with a firm steady tread. Yuffie didn't dare look up. If this was Reno or, Gods forbid, even Whisper, she would not be able to control herself and she would take him right there on the floor. A quick vision of herself straddling a pair of slender hips ran through her mind. At this point, it didn't matter whose hips they were, she just wanted to be riding…..CRAP! Tears of frustration and panic started to leak out of the corners of her eyes.

"Yuffie!"

That one gentle, deep toned word was a soft caress as Vincent's warm masculinity slid into the bed next to her. He settled against the headboard and wrapped his good arm behind her. Those long, strong fingers kneaded the muscles of her neck as the man gently eased her over until she was resting against his chest. Yuffie could not control her soft sob of relief.

"Gods Vinny…I am sorry."

Yuffie didn't care that her words were muffled, especially considering that her lips were moving against his ….naked….hard muscled, soft skinned chest.

"I don't know what is happening to…..me…. With this…argh…you know…"

The girl couldn't help herself, her tongue flicked out and traced a quick trail around one dusky nipple adding a musky/sweet taste dimension to his layered warm skin, gunpowder, and hot spice scent. Vincent twitched, sucked in a breath and, by the Gods, if that nipple didn't suddenly stand at attention.

* * *

When Vincent slipped quietly through the door, it was with more than a little trepidation. With everything that the Were's had told him about what was happening inside his friend's altered body. And… taking into consideration that the "normally" very excitable and impressionable young woman had evidently witnessed Chaos's taking of Ice, her agitation and very evident state of mind had him worried that Yuffie was going to jump his frame the minute he entered the room. The gunman was NOT prepared for the sight of her curled into a ball against the bed's headboard, or for the swirling miasma of panic, lust, and the sweet scent of tears that permeated the still air of the room.

The gunslinger had almost convinced himself that he was going to do this because it had to be done, but a sudden realization had his heart dropping down to the vicinity of his toes. GODS! Vincent sagged a little. He had watched Yuffie change over the years and it had only recently registered that she was no longer the immature girl who had bullied and badgered him out of the dark existence that he thought he deserved. Yuffie had become a shining beacon that the gunman unconsciously turned to when the darkness in his soul threatened to drag him back into a self created hell. His heart had stopped in the dark minute that he had found her crumpled, bleeding body and feared her dead. It had thundered back to life in rhythm with the soft flutter of the pulse he had found when he rested his fingers on her pale throat that night, and he had been trying to bury the fact that he had feelings for this bright, vivacious, sometimes stunningly annoying young woman every since.

Vincent covered the distance to the bed in a couple of long, determined strides. He slid in next to Yuffie's huddled form, and using his human arm, he shifted her over so she was cradled against his chest. Using strong fingers, he massaged the tense muscles in her neck as she murmured a soft bewildered apology against his chest and Vincent could not control his jerk of surprise as her warm tongue twirled around his bare nipple. The shock of pleasure that coursed through him from that simple intimate touch, brought the NEED to possess, to dominate, and to claim this one as HIS very own, roaring to the surface.

"IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Chaos's harsh rumble was underscored by soft applause from the Galian beast.

SHIT! How could he have forgotten about his resident demonic birth control!? Yuffie looked up at his face in concern when she felt his body tense up. The gunman could not control the panic that chilled through him at just the thought of Chaos getting loose…AGAIN…and the damage the demon could do to Yuffie.

"RELAX….HOST. WE HAVE A ONE TIME GOOD DEAL TO PROPOSE ." The demon was doing his best to sound sincere. "THE GALIAN BEAST AND I WON'T INTERFER WITH YOU AND YOUR MATE…..IF YOU PROMISE TO LET US OUT OCCASIONALLY SO WE CAN PLAY WITH OURS."

Ours….? One of the three voyeuristic witnesses down here was going to HAVE to describe to him exactly what had gone on between his most powerful demon and Ice. Vincent dragged his attention back to the demon's words.

"AND…..WE WILL KEEP THE OTHER TWO IN HERE FROM DISRUPTING YOUR PLEASURE ALSO."

Valentine hesitated…he knew better than to trust the demon.

"I want your word that Ice won't be forced into anything that she doesn't want and that you won't hurt her."

Chaos snorted, "YOU HAVE MY WORD THAT WE WON'T DO ANYTHING TO ICE THAT SHE DOESN'T AGREE TO FIRST."

Yuffie pulled back from him a little, and Vincent could not control the reflex that had his hand tightening under her soft brown hair.

"Agreed…." was all he breathed as he drew her soft, sweet, unresisting mouth down against his.

* * *

Yuffie had been kissed before. But those innocent fumbling attempts had been nothing compared to what Vincent was doing. Cupping her cheek lightly with his warm human hand, the man made love to her mouth in a silent promise of what was later to come. His lips were strong but supple as he nibbled and sucked lightly on her lower lip. Then… when she thought she couldn't stand it another minute, he turned his attention to the upper. The young woman could not stop the soft moan that escaped her throat, and an answering growl rumbled back when she twined her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in that long, soft, raven black hair to pull his head in closer to hers, deepening the kiss. She wanted to taste him in the same way he was tasting her.

Yuffie almost drew back, when in response to her running her tongue along the line of his slightly parted lips, he opened his mouth, tilting his head down a little, actually encouraging her to sample the inside. Just a smidgeon shy….Yuffie hesitantly slid her tongue in, lightly brushing it along the underside of his upper lip. Then, with his soft groan to give her some courage, she glided in along his tongue, curving hers up to brush the roof of his mouth. OH GODS! He tasted like one of those fiery sweet alcoholic drinks that Tifa liked to make up. The ones that tasted so good you did not mind their bite because of the sweet fire they ignited in your mouth and throat as they passed.

The young woman was so immersed in that taste and the incredibly sensation of his lips on hers that she was caught by surprise when the hand left her face and moved to the junction of her neck and shoulders. The other cool, deadly, metallic hand tickled down her ribcage to rest, spread fingered across her buttock as Vincent pulled her bottom tight into his lap and tilted her back to give himself better access. His hot mouth left hers and traveled over her face and neck, feathering them with soft kisses, sharp nips and slow languid swipes of that talented tongue. Then he returned his attention to her mouth and when his tongue slid between her lips, she opened for him, happy to have ANY part of him buried inside of her.

Where had he learned to do this? Without being demanding or overbearing the man managed to explore every inch of the inside of her mouth with that wonderfully adept appendage. Yuffie was practically whimpering by the time he disengaged. She could not understand why what he was doing with her mouth and lips was translating into a warm tingle down where he hadn't even touched her yet. She realized as she felt the length of him stir under her that MAYBE she wasn't the only one feeling warm tingles. She couldn't help it, she squirmed herself down against him only to have his strong hand stop her and raise her up.

"Oh… I DON'T think so…."

Yuffie's closed eyelids flew open to find herself staring into Valentine's eyes. Their color had deepened to the darkest ruby.

"I seem to remember someone mentioning…no demanding…. that she get as good as what Ice got."

The man had the audacity to smile, with a slow, wicked show of white, even teeth. One elegant eyebrow arched up.

"I am…. Curious…. Has that happened yet?"

Yuffie swallowed against a suddenly very dry mouth and not trusting her voice, slowly shook her head.

"Well then…."

That dark head dipped down and Yuffie had to bite her tongue to stifle the sudden urge to scream as his wicked mouth caressed her.

* * *

Vincent shifted his hips and eased Yuffie's warm weight off of his lap. (Not without some reluctance on HIS part) She had felt somehow "right" while being held there. But….he really needed to have his hands free to wander and explore over every inch of her warm skin. The gunman settled himself next to her, eyes drinking in all of the little details that had been covered by clothes or that he had just refused to see in the years that he had been this young woman's friend. The ninja had always been slender and petite, but somehow, without him noticing, she had developed a woman's softly flared hips, narrow flat, tightly muscled waist, and lovely high, firm breasts.

These just begged to be touched and his fingers glided over their firm surface, gladly taking the place of his lips and tongue. As he stroked with gentle fingers, his crimson gaze watched her innocent and unfeigned reaction to the stimulation with true pleasure. All Turks were trained in the bedroom arts. After all, sex was as much a weapon of war or interrogation as the gun and the blade. And….he had used those skills without thought as the weapon they were intended to be.

This though…THIS was different. The only response he was EXPECTING to get from Yuffie were her unrestrained moans (Hnnn…just like the one that escaped those sweet lips as he kissed where his fingers were and then blew a warm breath across) and oh yes….he was just egotistical enough that he was hoping to hear her scream his name at least once as he enjoyed what her very willing body had to give.

The man slowly stroked his hand down, feathering a light touch across her ribs. His mouth and tongue followed and he smiled against her silky skin as her stomach jumped when he swirled that hot, strong muscle around her sweet little navel and dipped it in just to hear her gasp. Yuffie shifted against him and he realized that the sneaky girl was using her thigh to feel out the length and hardness that was exquisitely trapped between them. (OH GODS!) When she moved, the sensation of her smooth skin sliding over him was almost unbearable. He could not stop the softly growled… "Yuffie"… that escaped his busy mouth. Vincent lifted his head to look into that lovely face and froze when he caught the quick flash of apprehension/fear that passed swiftly over it.

Oh…now that wouldn't do at all. Valentine was very aware that the only two sexual acts Yuffie had been witness to were… one… a horrendous bestial rape with lethal consequences, and two, whatever had occurred between Chaos and Ice. Knowing his most powerful demon very well, Vincent was pretty sure that had to have at least SEEMED very rough. It was understandable if Yuffie was a little afraid.

The gunslinger slid gentle hands up (giving a little tweak as he passed those irresistible breasts) and caught her slim wrists in his gauntlet-ed hand. The ex-Turk rolled, positioning her with the other hand until she was on top of him. Then, with his gaze never leaving her face, he put her hands on his chest, using his own to guide them over the tracery of silvered scars until they rested flat against his own firm stomach. He kept his expression calm and nonthreatening as he released her and leaned back supporting his weight on his elbows, silently encouraging the inexperienced woman to do a little exploration on her own.

* * *

Yuffie was practically beside herself as Vincent's fine hand's and incredible mouth played across her body leaving a trail of unquenched fire in their wake. His heat pressed against her, drawing her curiosity, and she surreptitiously rolled her thigh to rub against it. Vincent's soft growling of her name jerked her attention to his face and before she could stop it, the bloody vision of her friend writhing, moaning in pain under that great black beast flashed to the front of her mind. Yuffie managed to squelch the thought…THIS…was most definitely not the same, but knew when she felt the man next to her freeze that Valentine had caught her lapse. The young woman was getting ready to apologize….she did NOT want him to stop, when Vincent stroked his hands up her body (AND GODS! Didn't she just LOVE when he did that to her nipples) and gently holding her wrists in that gleaming claw he lithely rolled, deftly positioning her so that she was kneeling astraddle his narrow hips. Then, to her complete amazement, the man who always went through great pains to hide his awesome scarring and who HATED to be touched, guided her hands over that lacework of old damage to rest softly on his wonderfully hard stomach. Vincent leaned back, giving her his silent permission to satisfy whatever curiosity she might have. Yuffie felt the sharp prickle of tears behind her eyes. She knew how much THIS man would have to trust and care for her, to even think about allowing this.

Yuffie dropped her head before he could see the shimmer in her eyes. Wiggling herself a little tighter against him she was secretly pleased when Vincent, the uber controlled man of steel, hissed softly and she felt his hips rise little under her. Vincent's eye's flew wide and he totally lost the calm complacent mask that had been on his face as she leaned forwards and taking a page from his book, she feathered those sculpted collarbones with soft kisses interspersed with sharp nips. Working her way down, she imitated what he had done to her nipples and was rewarded by a soft, slightly strangled…"YUFFIE! Both of his hands clenched, one fisting into the sheets, the other punching right through. Yuffie studied the beautiful pale face and decided that she wanted to make that …sultry, deep burgundy eye's half lidded, pink lips slightly parted… look, cross the man's face more often. It was HOT.

The young woman slowly slid off, allowing the cool air of the room to replace her soft warmth. Vincent's half articulated protest was cut off when she leaned down to softly kiss where she had been sitting. The woman couldn't help but chuckle as her lover's hips arched up, the smooth muscles in his stomach and thigh's tightening.

* * *

Vincent was not prepared for the spasm that rocked through him when Yuffie's warm mouth engulfed him. HOLY SHIT! Where had she learned to do THAT?

He just barely managed to control the impulse that had him wanting to thrust up into that tight, sweet mouth. GODS... if he had known it was that talented… he would have stuffed it full of SOMETHING years ago in one of the many times everyone had wanted her to shut up! With a savage growl the gunman caught that slender waist, pulled her down on top of him and rolled, pinning her to the bed with his full weight. The little vixen had the nerve to start giggling. Well….two could play that game.

Vincent rumbled in satisfaction when her giggle strangled itself off in a shuddering…"VINCENT!"… as he eased down her body licking and nipping until he could nuzzle the inside of her thigh. It wasn't quite the scream he was looking for, but it was a good start. He held her hips down as he ran his mouth up and lightly kissed the soft skin at the junction of thigh and pelvis. He knew how to use his mouth and could not help but grin against her soft skin at her smothered curse when he used his enhanced strength to keep her hips down as she tried to arch up.

"Unhhhh…OHMYGODS! VINCENT…."

Not quite a scream yet, but the soft keening sound Yuffie was making was pure music to the gunman's ears. He had always had a fondness for honey and butter, but as he sampled her unique flavor, the man decided here and now that she was to become his favorite taste sensation.

* * *

Yuffie writhed against the rumpled sheet, totally consumed by the sweet fire Vincent's finger's and mouth were creating. When she managed to look across her own heaving belly at him, all she could see were his glowing red eyes bracketed from above by his curtain of raven locks and from below by her own wetly gleaming, silken curls. His long black eyelashes dropped obscuring that beautiful gaze and he slowly ran his tongue up to swirl around the center that was feeding the flames. Her eyes never left him as he rose between her legs, the light sheen of sweat giving his skin the shimmer of alabaster.

GODS….there was no fear in Yuffie as he steadied her hips in his masterful hands and slowly eased himself into her. OHHHH…she was going to DIE! But… what a way to go! Vincent took his sweet time, shifting forwards and then back giving her virgin tightness time to adjust. Yuffie couldn't stand it….she wanted…she wanted… CRAP! She didn't know what she wanted, but she WANTED it now! She tried to thrust up but was thwarted by the grip he maintained on her hips. Valentine shifted, and eased his weight down on her. His mouth once more claimed hers and as that amazing tongue demanded entrance, he buried himself completely, filling her until she thought she would burst.

Yuffie screamed and it was captured by Vincent's hot mouth as he penetrated her lips moving his tongue in and then out in a languid easy rhythm whilst holding the rest of himself perfectly still. Yuffie rolled her hips under him, and whimpered, almost begging against his mouth,

"OH GODS… Valentine….move…I can't …stand….DO SOMETHING."

She could have sworn she felt his lips lift against hers in a smile and then those slender hips pulled back, sliding him almost all of the way out only to thrust forwards, driving that hard/soft heat all of the way back in again. With each long, slow stroke the gunman made a wave of sweet fire would sweep through her.

* * *

It had just about done Vincent in as he worked himself into Yuffie. He had not encountered a barrier, her early hard training and the very physical way she fought having taken care of that particular problem years ago. BUT… that did not change the fact that she was sexually untouched and very, very tight. When he was able to bury himself fully in her constricting heat, he had to stop, not so much to give her time to adjust but because if he moved he was afraid he would totally lose it before he had had the pleasure of hearing her scream. In the meantime…. he tortured her a little by using his tongue to fill her head with the image of what the rest of him SHOULD be doing. (He didn't NEED any of his perverted reprobates to make her whine and beg against his mouth).

When he finally relented and gave her what she asked for, he watched his mate with half lidded eye's, drinking in the way her shimmering hair fanned out on the pillow under her head, the flush as the fire of passion touched her pale skin and glazed her gleaming brown eyes to the color of honey and the way her soft pink lips opened as she started to softly keen. Yuffie's strong arms laced their way around his neck, fingers burying themselves into the thickness of his hair, and she started to writhe under him as her hips lifted in rhythm to his quickening pace. Sweet fire liquefied in his belly and the silken vise that slid over and around him fed that flame, making it suddenly overwhelming. Yuffie must have felt the increase in pressure and she wrapped her long coltish legs around his hips, changing the angle. Vincent felt her shudder as he hit that sweet spot inside of her. Yuffie's head snapped back and on the second stroke that passed over that spot, her keen changed to a breathless scream…

"OH…Uhnnn VINCENT..GODS…. VINCENT!"

She convulsed against him. The shuddering waves that passed through her pushed him over the edge and Vincent's vision sheeted to white his climax consuming his every sense in the flames of pure, almost painful pleasure.

* * *

Yuffie came back to reality when she felt Vincent easing her back down onto the bed. When that first wave had past through her, she had driven herself up, planting his hard length as far into her as she could, and even after those waves of screaming fire had had their way with her, she did not want to unlock her muscles enough to let him slide out. She was very happy when all he did was shift their weight around without withdrawing, so they could rest easy, limbs haphazardly entwined. She watched as the normally implacable man drew a long shuddering breath, and was entranced when his thick eyelashes fluttered open revealing a deep ,warm crimson gaze that was filled with something she had never thought to see reflected there. Happiness, contentment…and maybe just a touch of bewilderment. Yuffie could have laid there all night and contemplated that lovely pale face, but a flash of concern crossed it and Vincent all of a sudden made a move to get up.

Yuffie tightened the leg that was still thrown over his hip.

"Hey Vinny….not so fast."

Vincent froze and a wicked smile curved his mouth.

"VINNY..? There is no one here who answers to that name. As I recall the name that was being screamed out a few minutes ago was….most definitely…Vincent…Hmmmm?"

One elegant eyebrow arched up and Yuffie just KNEW that her face was bright red.

Vincent took pity on her and swooped down to lightly kiss her flaming cheeks.

"It is getting close to the time Ice said you would need more antibodies, I was just going to get the shot so it would be here when you need it."

Yuffie nuzzled into his neck for a minute,

"Vincent…I was thinking, Ice made a good point when she said that being down here in her human form would be a lethal mistake. Maybe I should hold off on using those last two shots until we get back to the surface? It would be a lot easier to travel the girders with four hands and a tail."

She kept her face hidden, not wanting him to see the shame reflected there for even considering staying in her beast form, even for a little while. A warm hand under her chin forced her head up so that he could meet her eyes. His ruby gaze solemnly studied her for a long moment, then he gave a slight nod.

"Actually…. That would probably be a very good idea. I like the fact that I would not have to worry as much about you getting injured. The Were's healing factor does come in handy. Now…" he settled back down and patted the space beside him, "lets see if we can get a little rest before it is time to go."

* * *

Ice had fallen into a sated restful sleep after listening to the moans and screams that had emanated from the lover's room. A different kind of moan jerked her awake a couple of hours later as her sharp ears picked up the sound of Yuffie Changing. The Were went to roll off of the couch only to find her legs pinned by the bulk of a sleeping Whisper. It seemed that the White had not wanted to sleep alone and he had snuck up so he could curl his bulk around her. With a soft huff the female untangled herself from his grip and slipped into the kitchen. The girl would need her shot.

* * *

Yuffie gasped as the pain of Change slowly faded. She could feel Vincent's hand making slow soothing circles on her back, but after a few minutes this changed, and she could feel those same fingers tracing the pattern of her stripes.

"What the HELL are you doing…Vincent?" Those fingers stopped for a moment, and the gunman's deep, sleepy voice drifted up in the darkened room.

"I just realized that these wonderful stripes REALLY accentuate what a nice ass you have, Yuffie."

Yuffie just about swallowed her tongue when his fingers ghosted down and tickled around the heavy base of her tail, the sudden wave of pleasure had her arching her back, slamming her butt back into the curve of the hot body behind her.

There was a husky chuckle as Vincent snuggled her ass tight into himself and wrapped his arm back around her.

"Oh yes….." he whispered. " It is …. a very nice ass….indeed."

* * *

Ice had stopped outside of the door, syringe in hand. As the whispered words reached her twitching ears she grinned, quietly turned around and returned it to the fridge. She caught a flash of crimson from the couch and she could see that Whisper was silently snickering also. It seemed... that their Alpha had whole heartedly embraced his responsibilities. The white scooted back, lifting an arm in invitation… Ice hesitated for a minute, then slid onto the couch beside him. He was not the only one who was tired of sleeping alone. It did not take long before the only sound that whispered through Ice's sanctuary, was the softly blended, peaceful breathing of the Troop that slept there.

* * *

Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

Square Enix holds all rights the FFVII world and its characters. I is just playing with them for a while. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 12

Reno went from being asleep to fully awake in the space of heartbeat. He was being watched. Surreptitiously, he slid his hand under the pillow, fingers closing around the comforting shape of his E.M.R. Eyes flashing open, the red head just managed to stop the nerve impulse that would have had him thumping and jolting Whisper right between his crimson eyes. As said eyes blinked in feigned innocence, hiding the sly humor lurking there, the man vaguely wondered how the Were's remarkable healing abilities would handle a lethal charge of electro-magnetic energy delivered that close to the brain. He was seriously tempted to tone down the setting and thump the beast anyways. Maybe it would at least give the Albino a stinging headache, as payback for the coronary he had almost given Reno. Whisper was in his beast form, and the Turk just knew that the intelligent male had PURPOSELY snuck in, reared up over the side of the bed and placed his awesome wedge shaped head to hang, vulture like, right over the man's pale face, just to scare the crap out of him. Well it had worked! Whisper snickered, and the bed shuddered a little as he scrambled up.

"YO…Hey… what the he….,"

Reno buried his hands in his blankets but totally lost the battle to keep them as the Were's blunt fingered, powerful hands grabbed and yanked.

"Ice says…,"

Whisper's laughing voice was cut off as Reno grabbed his pillow and whomped him upside the head. This was followed by the man's lean, whipcord muscled body as he surged up. Whisper outweighed the Turk, but he still somehow ended up on his back howling, as long, strong fingers dug around through the thick mane, finding any and all of the Were's sensitive spots. The tickling went on until the big White was laughing so hard he had a serious case of the hick-ups and was breathlessly screaming that he totally gave up. Satisfied that he had regained his standing, Reno sat up…not getting off of the thickly muscled body. ( After all, its velvety softness felt kinda nice under his naked ass)

He stared sternly down into the long muzzled face,

"That should teach ya not to mess with a Turk!"

Whisper gave him a closed mouthed grin, and the Turk sucked in a surprised breath at the odd sensation of muscles and bones rearranging themselves between his thighs, as the firm body that he was straddling… Changed. He found himself staring into Whisper's remarkably exotic, almost human looking face and suddenly wondered what tasty secrets those pale pink lips might be hiding. Being a man who could not stand having a secret kept from him, (after all….extracting secrets was kind of in his job description.) Reno swooped down, catching that most interesting mouth with his own.

* * *

Whisper had not been able to resist it when he had slipped into the room. He had been alone for a very long time, and waking, snuggled up against the warm body of a sibling for the first time in years had re -awakened that part of his mind that had gone to sleep in order to keep him sane through these last long years of isolation. The members of the Troop were, by their primate nature, very social creatures and not many could survive being totally alone. He had done it for almost five years and knew that when he had come across this odd little group he had been very close to the point of going insane. When Ice had awakened him this day, Whisper had realized that the terrible, screaming emptiness that had almost taken over his soul... was gone. He felt like he…belonged….again.

The sight of Reno bundled up in his blankets, snoring slightly, had tickled something inside of the White and he had decided to have some fun. Whisper had hoped that Reno would…understand….his warped sense of humor, but had not calculated that the man would have a weapon in bed with him. Hence, when that wicked little rod that the red phased male wielded with such skill flashed in front of his face…The Albino wisely froze. Still he could not keep the laughter off of his face as he enjoyed his successful prank.

The White crawled up on the bed and was trying to explain to Reno that Ice was waking everyone up so that they could leave. He playfully snatched the man's blankets off, intending on getting a peek at that wonderful, creamy skinned body before he ran out of the room. But , just as he was sitting back to enjoy the view, the man stunned him with a pillow (YES… stunned…that was his story and he was sticking to it!) and with surprising strength (while Whisper was… STUNNED….of course) he was thrown over on his back. Reno pinned him there and did horribly cruel things, with strong, spider like fingers, all over his ribs and stomach. Whisper screamed with laughter, but didn't fight too terribly hard. ANY touch was a luxury that he was going to enjoy to the fullest.

When the man straightened up, taking on a threatening posture and the thunder of dominance entered his voice, the Albino just gave a humble, closed mouthed grin, lifted his chin to expose his throat, and…Changed…putting himself at Reno's mercy to prove that he would not challenge the man's position of Second in this odd Troop's ranks.

Whisper was well aware that he was a lot bigger and immeasurably stronger than Reno. In reality, HE should be the dominant of the two. But… the big male had just never been interested in asserting his dominance. The main purpose for wanting to be a high ranked male was to acquire the privilege of breeding and producing kits. Since he had no interest in females, and even less interest in engaging in the heartbreak of trying to produce viable young, he just saw no reason to take on the responsibility that came with moving up in rank. He had been and still was, quite content to be on the lowest rung of the male ladder. Whisper just HOPED, that unlike Steel, Vincent would be willing to allow his second ranked male to pick a willing sexual partner out of the lower ranks. Namely….yours truly.

Whisper's crimson eye's flew wide as Reno pinned his shoulders down and dropped his warm, thin lips to capture the Were's mouth. The closest the Troop came to kissing was the intimacy of cleaning anothers eyes with a soothing, warm tongue. Of course, they had all seen human's kiss before and Whisper had always wondered what purpose it served. (Ice had seemed to really like it further into her bout with the winged Alpha.) The red head's lips seared the White's mouth, and after the first shock of surprise wore off, Whisper just… melted. The man's mouth was firm and…soft…at the same time. Sharp teeth jerked on his lower lip, but immediately released, so that the Reno's tongue could give it an apologetic swipe. Then that tongue turned demanding and forced its way in to travel lightly over ivory teeth, tickling the extremely sensitive INSIDE of the Albino's lips. OHHH! Whisper TOTALLY understood why human's did this. It felt wonderful! He unlocked his canines, opening himself totally and was rewarded when Reno deepened the kiss as he explored the virgin territory inside. The White couldn't help himself, he shyly slid his strong, broad tongue along Reno's and the dominant male rolled his tongue back allowing Whisper's to follow. The Were's inner eyelids flicked shut in ecstasy, the man tasted just as complex as he smelled. Whisper's mouth was filled with a swirling mix of contrasts, sweet mixed with a tangy heat, overlaid with hints of a cool and bitter spice. Reno caught Whisper's tongue between strong teeth and lightly sucked, and Whisper could not stop the soft pleading whimper that escaped his throat. Reno released his mouth, shifting his weight back and the White realized that certain portions of his anatomy were applauding this new and exciting experience.

SHIT! Memory slammed into gear and a certain particularly gruesome scene flashed behind his eyes. What the hell was he DOING? The Second might be willing to take the risk of sex without their Alpha's consent but Whisper KNEW better than to travel that path. A Were female could get away with submitting to the sexual advances of a male other then her Alpha, she really had no choice. A male though did not have that protection and this was a HUMAN he so wanted to pair with. They did not operate by the same sexual rules that applied to the Troop. Vincent might not approve and Whisper did NOT wish to get caught in the act by that particularly scary Alpha. The White knew from experience that, yes Reno would get reprimanded, but it wouldn't be the higher ranked male who would bear the brunt of it if they were caught, and human's could be so….creative….when it came to punishment. Whisper surged up, trying to knock Reno completely off of him.

* * *

Reno was just a little surprised. Considering the big Were's eclectic diet, he had not known what to expect when he kissed that exotic mouth. Velvet soft lips, stiffened under his and then became soft and pliable. When he demanded entrance they willingly parted, and the man eagerly explored the unknown. Whisper's mouth was soft, and remarkably dry, his tongue was broader then the norm with a rougher texture. Reno spent a couple of seconds lightly running his tongue up against the male's very high, arched palette exploring the heavy ridging there. The taste was also something new. The fact that the Were was an omnivore was not only evident in the elongated sharp canines, but also in a warm, oddly sweet…meaty…flavor. It was unusual, but Reno was a self proclaimed connoisseur of the unusual and he did not find the taste at all… unpleasant. As a matter of fact, when the male under him responded by slipping that wide, dry, rough tongue into his mouth, he caught an almost flowery undertone to the taste and decided that he really rather liked it. The red head also did not miss out on the fact that the investigating tongue was very STRONG. As he caught it gently between his teeth and sucked on it lightly, he couldn't help but think of what it would feel like….The soft whimper that had worked its way out of Whisper's throat changed to a whine and Reno was almost bucked off of the bed as the White surged up and tried to roll out from underneath him.

"YO….what the hell?… hold on!"

Reno clamped down with slender but strong legs and burying his fingers in the silky long mane he managed to press the big White into the bed. It slowed the male down, but the Turk knew that it would only be for a moment…damn…he could feel the incredible strength in the muscles that were rolling under his hands, and he knew if the Albino turned violent he was so screwed. The red head didn't get it, he could feel the evidence of Whisper's arousal under his ass, so he knew that the Were HAD been enjoying the attention. What the hell had changed?

"Damn it….hold still for a minute!"

Reno was secretly relieved when Whisper stopped bucking under him and went still. (except for the odd tremors that the red head could feel coursing through the big male's stiff body}

"NOW…..what gives?"

Whisper wouldn't look him in the eye so Reno grabbed his chin and forced those crimson eyes to meet his. He straightened up with a grunt, releasing the broad shoulders, surprised at what he saw reflected there. Yes, Whisper's unusual eyes were glazed with pleasure, but what had deepened them to the color of old blood was not passion, it was… pure… unadulterated…. fear.

"Yo man….come on…I've done this before. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Whisper squirmed a little under him,

"We n-n-need to ask V-Vincent…"

Reno grinned, it was kind of funny seeing something this big and strong stutter with fear. Then WHAT the Were had stuttered... registered. Reno's head snapped up in incredulous anger.

"Yo….what did you just say? …Vincent has NOTHING to say about this! I don't have to ask ANYONE'S permission for ANYTHING!"(Well… except maybe Rufus. After all, that man pretty much owned him, body, and sadly enough, soul.)

Reno shoved himself off of Whisper and the Were slowly slithered off of the bed. The Turk was livid and the other male knew it, because he shifted back into his more defensible beast form. Reno stabbed a stiff finger at the beast as he scooted backwards towards the door.

"YO….I had better not hear that YOU approached that demon ridden fucker about this either, unless you want to have my E.M.R. shoved up your pretty pink ass!"

Whisper didn't say a word. He just wrinkled his lips back in nervous reaction to Reno's rage, flattened his expressive ears down to nothing and quietly slipped out of the room. The pillow that the Turk hurled after him thunked into the closing door and slid down to lie in a fluffy…lonely… heap on the floor. GODS! Reno sat back, running his shaking, angry hands through his sleep tossed hair. What the HELL?….asking permission to have sex?….Now didn't that just take the cake!

* * *

Sergeant moved stealthily through the ruins. By the time he had managed to claw his way out of his self imposed confinement, Ice and her pursuer's had been long gone. The beast who had once been a man, felt a sharp pang of sadness and guilt slash through his heart. He was the cinnamon female's only social contact down in this desolate hell hole and he had pretty much guaranteed that she would NOT be seeking out his company anytime soon. Her already damaged mind did not do well with total and complete isolation. Damn….this completed the horror he had helped make out of her life.

Still, he swung his massive head, looking for the next spots of dried blood he was following, there was something he could do for Ice before what was left of his sanity and his life, totally fled. His broad tongue delicately prodded at the red/black spot and the two bullet holes in his high shoulder twanged in sympathy at the sweet coppery taste. His healing factor was no longer functioning as it should. That, even without the savage, blood ridden thoughts that were taking over his mind, told him his time was growing very short.

Yes…..a deep growl rumbled through his chest and huge curving claws dug at the blood….the man who was responsible for those bullets had TURK written all over him. SO… evidently Shinra was not going to leave this up to Ice, they were on her trail and determined to take her back to the Labs. Slightly glazed yellow/brown eyes narrowed as the mighty beast studied the drop into the deep. He did not think the group would come back through this way. The other path was longer and…darker…BUT if the Turk's were hauling an unwilling Were along with them, they would want to avoid too many hard climbs amongst the girders. A tentative paw had the decrepit structure shuddering and the monster growled again as he slowly backed off of it. The rusting, twisted steel could not handle his weight. He would have to intercept the group at a different point. If the little Changeling female was…euthanized, Ice would be released from the obligation HE had forced on her. AND, thick drooling lips pulled back from jagged teeth in a hideous smile, it was about time Shinra paid the blood debt that he felt he was owed.

* * *

Vincent had been awake for a while. He could hear Ice stirring around in the common room and knew that they all needed to be up and on their way, but the unusual experience of waking up to a warm body pressed tight against his was one he did not wish to end. Yuffie was tucked in against his side, one hand buried under the pillows, the other arm draped across his chest. Her long muzzled face was resting on his shoulder and he couldn't help but smile as one of her thin, pointed ears kept twitching when his warm breath ghosted across it.

That warm breath stopped for a moment as the man's intellect caught up with the emotions and hormones of the eventful night. Even in this beast form, the ninja had a innocent, youthful look about her, and Vincent knew HE was anything but innocent. A twinge of guilt and trepidation coursed through the gunslinger as he carefully ran long fingers through the Changed woman's chocolate mane…Gods….this had the potential to get really messy. What had he done? The gunslinger cringed a little. He was twice Yuffie's age and her having to deal with the unforeseen effects of a heat cycle made this look, to his biased eye's at least, as if he had taken advantage of the situ….

"HOST…..IF YOU FINISH THAT THOUGHT, I AM GOING TO FIND A WAY TO PERSONALLY COME OUT THERE AND KICK YOUR ASS!"

Vincent winced as Chaos poked at something that caused a brief flash of pain behind his eyes, to emphasize the fact that he wasn't joking. The Galian beast rumbled a counterpoint to the ancient being's contemptuous anger.

"What thought would that be…Chaos? The one that points out the fact that I am almost forty years her senior, or the one that tells me that all of the blood on my hands will forever taint something that I don't want to see ruined."

Vincent felt the Dark Being try to interrupt, but he was on a roll.

"How about the thought that I will have to watch her age and eventually die….or my personal favorite…the fact that we MAY have to deal with the very real possibility that Yuffie cannot be cured…won't that be the best cosmic joke, the demonic killer in love with a beautiful beast."

His tone was nothing but icy sarcasm. White sheeted across his vision and he could not control the spasm that jerked through his body as the demon went from just poking to giving him a proverbial smack upside the head.

"VINCENT VALENTINE….SOMETIMES YOU CAN BE SUCH A DENSE DUMB ASS! DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT JUST CAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH?"

Chaos's displeasure was evident in the way his voice deepened and became even more gravelly.

"I AM A CREATURE WHO REVELS IN THE STRENGTH OF RAGE AND HATE….BUT EVEN I KNOW THAT THE POWER OF THESE IS NOTHING WHEN FACED WITH THE POWER OF LOVE… GODS~!…"The demon made gagging noises. "I CAN'T…BELIEVE…YOU MADE ME SAY THAT!"

There was a soft snickering from behind the more powerful Chaos, the Galian beast was not going to let the opportunity pass for him to get his two gils worth in.

"**Master of mine, the point that Chaos is so…inelegantly trying to make is….that if you love this mate of yours, all of the rest is of no consequence**."

"Galian, that is oversimplifying it and you know…."Vincent was cut off by a sharp prod on the chest.

"Vincent?!"

The gunslinger found himself looking into honey gold eyes that were filled with concern and a little anger. He could not maintain eye contact as he answered the unspoken question he saw there.

"Hnn… its okay Yuffie. I was just…thinking."

With a soft snort she rolled over to sit beside him on the bed.

"You had better be thinking of fun things to do in bed… with ME, and not be thinking about what I KNOW you are."

Striped brows furrowed as Yuffie's narrowed eyes picked up a wicked gleam.

"Thoughts like that can come back to bite ya on the butt!"

The Changeling yawned, giving him a close up view of the impressive hardware hidden behind her soft velveteen lips.

"And, just so you are forewarned…" Long jaws snapped together, "I am NOT speaking metaphorically." The Changed ninja slid off of the bed.

Vincent felt his eyebrow's try to crawl right off of his forehead. Did she just THREATEN him? CRAP! He had not even considered the fact that the four demons on the INSIDE were probably easier to deal with then this single, mercurial, hot tempered….evil….young woman. Half lidded, crimson eyes followed that tight, well muscled, long tailed butt as Yuffie strolled to the door. They widened in delighted surprise as the woman turned, winked at him and with a rolling twitch of narrow hips, she flipped her tail over her back and scooted out of the room.

* * *

Ice glanced her brother's way as he came shooting out of Reno's room. Her hands stilled on the computer keyboard as she took in his sucked in mane and flattened ears. It was very evident to her eyes that Whisper was distressed. The male stopped as the door slammed shut and Ice's sensitive ears picked up the "thump" of something smacking it on the other side. So….it seemed that Reno might just be distressed also. Whisper blinked unhappy crimson eyes at her and the female huffed softly, rocking a hand in a "Don't look at me, I don't understand THEM…either" motion. Then she returned her attention to the flashing screen.

The big White slunk over to sit on his rump beside her. Ice's lips wrinkled up in a tooth showing smile as a soft humm of understanding escaped the male's throat in sudden realization of how she had side stepped the Troop for so many years. Ice paid him no mind as the computer ran through it's sequence of views from the security camera's mounted in and around the ruins. The female softly chuffed to herself. Usually she could track the Troop's movements well enough to avoid an accidental run in. Today though, she could not locate hide nor hair of ANY of her sibs. It was as if they had abandoned their home territory. Ice felt as though a creepy crawly was working its way down her spine and her mane ruffed out in reflex. There were very few things down here that Steel and his brotherhood would not take on in a fight. If it came down to the Alpha defending his territory, there were fewer things still that even had a chance of surviving that battle. A thought flitted through her mind, and her fingers stopped as her brain worked hard to grab that disturbing piece of recent memory. Not even wanting to consider the implications, Ice tapped in the code that would bring the cameras in front of Sergeant's prison on line.

* * *

Reno spent a few extra minutes getting his frustration under control. It only took another few to get ready for the day. The clothes that Ice had set out for him consisted of heavy clothed black pants, a deep cut sleeveless black undershirt and a silky black button up shirt. (Which he only buttoned part way up, of course.) He had been surprised at how well they fit his lankly frame. (although he personally felt he looked better in dark blue. Black was for heavy, depressed personalities like….a certain gunslinger he knew) Ice had even seemed to take into consideration the extra room the shirt needed to fit over the modified shoulder holster that carried his gun and the EMR. (when that baby wasn't riding in its against regulation position….namely his pocket.)

The red head sat on the bed and went through the familiar routine of checking the battle readiness of his weapons. Reno was known for the sloppiness of his dress and his contemptuous disregard for rules. This relaxed attitude did NOT extend to the weapons that he depended on to keep him alive.

As slender, long fingered hands broke the gun down, Reno couldn't help but replay what had happened with Whisper through his mind. The man knew that he had NOT misread the big White's intentional courting of him, and to be stopped in his tracks by the Albino's insistence on permission had made him lash out in more frustration than anger at the other male. The Turk's hands paused in what he was doing, the fear he had seen reflected in those crimson eyes had bordered on terror. They knew almost nothing about how these creatures functioned in their society, maybe Whisper had a good reason for his fear. Damn….he had let wounded pride speak for him before thinking through the facts. The man gave a rueful shrug and reassembled the gun, making sure it was fully loaded. As Rude had pointed out all too often, Reno was one who would never be accused of thinking before acting. With a regretful sigh, the red head vacated the bed, holstered his weapons and shrugged a couple of times to settle the harness into its accustomed place. GODS!….he needed a cigarette! Smoking down here while out in the open would have been suicidal, but maybe in the safety of Ice's home, he could satisfy his nicotine craving. His pack was in his jacket, which was out in the common area. Reno finger combed his hair back into a ponytail, then not having anything else to delay facing the inevitable. (Whisper, in particular) He stepped out of the room.

An almost habitual scan of the room placed Yuffie's striped form in the kitchen and the two Were's planted in front of one of the computers. Of Vincent, there was no sign. Reno suppressed a snicker, of course with the workout that man had been put through during the night, he wouldn't be surprised if the quiet gunslinger had decided to sleep in.

Whisper didn't even glance his way as the red head flopped down on the couch that his jacket was draped over, so absorbed was he in what Ice was studying. Reno gave a self conscious roll of tight shoulders, good….maybe this was going to be easier than he had thought. He was in the process of shaking out a cigarette when both Were's jerked as if they had been shot. Whisper flattened down a little and gave what could only be described as a very un-masculine whine and Ice simply froze. Reno flowed up off of the couch, and when he recognized what was on the screen, he could not stifle the subdued…SHIT… that escaped out of the confines of his mouth.

"Shit….what?"

* * *

Vincent would have been surprised if he had known that his routine upon arising had closely mirrored that of the Turk's. (of course as the saying goes… once a Turk, always a Turk) Even down to the disquieting thoughts that kept running through his mind as he readied his weapons for the day. The red head's exclamation, as the gunslinger stepped through the door, and the tense attitude of the three gathered around the computer had him crossing the space in a couple of long strides. He felt the warm mass of Yuffie behind him as she also came to look. Ice pulled back from the screen, hands laying limply on the keys, her way of being totally speechless.

It was the big White who forced out a horrified whisper.

"Sergeant is out!"

Vincent knelt and took in the camera's image of a gaping hole bracketed by long slashing claw marks. He had not gotten a good look at the beast that Reno and Ice had been fleeing from, but the two Weres abject terror was a little surprising. The gunman had seen the size and power of the brother that Ice had single-handedly killed and Whisper had proven that he was a devastatingly efficient fighter. What about this monster so terrified them? His face was on level with the sitting female's and he caught a quick glimpse of silver as she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Sergeant?…" Something shifted in his mind as he saw that the fear there was tempered by a terrible sorrow.

"Ice… is that monster Sergeant Muran?" Vincent felt his stomach clench as she slowly nodded. Her hands lifted off of the keys.

"_I made a mistake and they found out that Sergeant was hiding me. My Alpha would not give me up to them, so he was…punished."_

Ice would not look at him and her broad shoulders were slumped as if shamed.

Whisper hummed softly.

"One of the scientist was not really interested in animal trials, Sergeant was given to him for more…in depth…studies on what the virus we host could do to a human body. It was a terrible punishment. They kept him on our lab, and all of the Troop heard his screams as he endured what was done to him."

Red eyes caught and held Vincent's crimson ones and the gunslinger saw a deep love mixed with the fear that was there.

"Our Alpha never once, in all of that time…" The White's lips curved up in a terrible, proud smile. "… through all of that pain, said a word about where he had hidden Ice."

The smile vanished as those sad, bloody eyes turned back to the screen.

"By the time they were finished with him, the man that was Sergeant was completely buried in the beast. Not only was Sergeant no longer even close to human, but his mind didn't survive the experiments intact and he was very…..unstable. The scientist had to tank him after more than a few deaths proved that he was not controllable."

Valentine pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. GODS!.. didn't THAT sound familiar. He so did not want to ask this question, but he had to know.

"What was this…scientist's…name?"

Ice stirred and for the first time Vincent heard the mute female's ravaged voice. It was no more than a painfully garbled, hoarse, hate filled whisper. "His name was… Hojo."


	13. Chapter 13

This is a fanfiction...I make no profit from it. Square Enix holds all rights to FFVII and its characters. I hold the rights to my original characters

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 13

Yuffie just stared at Ice. Damn Hojo…were they EVER going to be done with that creepy, sick, Shinra psychopath! The ninja had moved up behind the kneeling gunman and was resting her hands on his shoulders while she balanced herself on her feet, so that she could see the computer screen over him. She had been enjoying the tactile sensation of the soft, black shirt that he was wearing as it slid over his firm musculature. This changed as the young woman felt the man stiffen under her fingers and then shudder at the mention of that hated name. She unconsciously kneaded the broad shoulders, trying to get Vincent to just let it go. The woman knew instinctively that it wasn't a chance run in with Sergeant that he was thinking about.

The damage that Hojo had wrought on Valentine's mind, body and spirit ran very deep indeed. Yuffie had accepted the fact that the ex-Turk might never fully recover from his years as one of the monstrous Doctor's specimens. But… GODS!….it didn't help that every time the man turned around he was being confronted with the evidence of that Shinra BASTARD'S peculiar brand of insanity.

Fine….Yuffie stifled the sad sigh that tried to weasel its way past her lips. She had played the fool MANY times in order to distract Vincent out of his black moods, she had NO problem continuing to do so, if that is what it took to keep him from spiraling down into the dark.

The ninja plastered a big smile onto her face only to wipe it off as Ice flinched and the cinnamon female's thin lips peeled back in reflex to show her teeth. (Note to self, gotta remember NOT to flash my big, pearly whites at the Weres!) The ninja tried a closed mouth smile and Ice relaxed.

"Hey, I was wanting to ask….do ya have anything OTHER than M.E.R.s and soup to eat?"

It worked… Yuffie had to suppress a grin as Vincent's head swiveled around in order to give her an incredulous look. Reno looked at her as if she was crazy (Like HE had any room to talk!) Ice just blinked, as if her mind had skipped a track. Yuffie gave those wonderful shoulders a final squeeze and headed back towards the kitchen.

"Yeah cause, eating the same stuff all of the time has just got to be so…you know…. BORING!"

The young woman casually looked back over her shoulder to catch Ice's hands flow hesitantly through their graceful dance. Vincent didn't look at Yuffie as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers while he translated.

"_You can always try a pinky_…?"

Yuffie shrugged and rummaged in a cabinet, "Well that sounds better than soup….where do ya keep them?"

She had her head and shoulders buried inside the cupboard and didn't see the gunman stand up and hesitate as he took in the sight of her striped, long tailed behind swaying back and forth as she searched,

"Hnnn….Yuffie….pinkies are newborn rats…"

"Ewww!… Owww!"

The changeling jerked back and cracked herself right across the bridge of her muzzle on the counter's overhang. That didn't stop her though.

"GROSSNESS!….that's DISGUSTING…."

Yuffie made gagging noises then clamped both hands over her muzzle when she realized that BOTH Weres looked slightly… insulted. Ice tapped her throat and copied Yuffie by gagging slightly.

SHIT….she had forgotten about the Were's damaged throat. Ice was probably limited to very soft foods….like soup and the goopy M.E.R's…(and, eww… uber grossness, tender baby pinkies).

Damn….

"I mean…um…That's awful." Yuffie grabbed a can of soup. "When we get topside, we are gonna have to introduce Ice to real food. Like …oh I don't know…. chocolate mousse…. yeah…I'll bet she would really like chocolate mousse."

* * *

Whisper watched the Changeling in total bewilderment. He had found, while he was growing up, that it was easier to go with the flow rather than trying to understand the female Troop member's thought processes. This human female made their sometimes alien, almost always convoluted reasoning seem SIMPLE! GODS….he did NOT envy Valentine.

Crimson eyes narrowed and glanced slyly sideways to watch the Alpha as the gunman turned from watching the girl….. On the other hand… the White male had felt the air chill… and dark, dangerous THINGS had stirred in the man at the mention of Hojo's name. The little striped female's distracting behavior had diverted something there. Whisper nodded slightly to himself as he saw the pale man's lips quirk up in a slight smile at Ice's bewildered look and her questioning_ of why she would want to eat a moose covered in chocolate?…and what was chocolate_? Yes, this was a dance that the pair had engaged in many times, even if the dominant of the two was unawares of it. Gold glimmered for an instant in Vincent's ruby eyes as he glanced the Albino's way and Whisper KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt, that even if the man wasn't aware of what the girl was doing, the devil that was a part of him WAS and whole heartedly approved.

The big White turned back to watch the computer screen. He had a decision to make. Joining in the bug battle and staying with this odd little group had been a spur of the moment… indulgence. Going up against his brothers or... Gods forbid… Sergeant….was a totally different scenario. He shuddered and licked his lips trying to moisten a suddenly dry mouth. If the Troop males caught them trespassing, their deaths would not be pleasant and little Yuffie's life would become a horror. Likewise…. running into their old Alpha while he was in the throes madness wasn't an option in which they would end up any less dead. Ice evidently felt obligated to Yuffie as that was the only reason he could think of that would force the female back into the labs. The big male had no such motivation...although?... red eyes blinked wistfully in Reno's direction but the red head was talking strategy with Vincent. Whisper hummed softly to himself in indecision as he watched his sister gathering things together in preparation for leaving. Maybe… Ice would allow him to just stay here?

* * *

Ice had taken the time before everyone awoke to slip back into her battle harness. As soon as Yuffie was done eating the red phased female beckoned her over and involuntarily winced as the girl let out a squeal of delight when she saw that the Were had one for her. It only took her a few minutes to get the leather adjusted and buckled onto Yuffie's lithe form. Ice took the time to show the young woman where the harness was designed to give and form fit during a Change. Then she picked up a roll of soft leather and with a quick flip sent it unrolling across a table. The soft hiss of surprise that escaped the girl's lips and Valentines respectful "Hnnn" told the Were that this group knew quality weapons when they saw them. Picking a set of four matched throwing blades out of their resting places, Ice handed them to Yuffie. The Were didn't say anything, all she did was narrow her silver eyes, wrinkle her velveteen lips, and quirk a brow at the other female. Yuffie gaped, showing ALL of her teeth in a wicked grin as she backed up a little, casually testing the small blade's balance. Then she answered the Were's unspoken question. She dropped two of the blades to be caught by her hand/feet as she dove forwards. Her hands whipped, unloading the first set. Before those even reached their target she flipped, catching and spinning the remaining two lovely, silver laced blades out with her feet.

Reno had slouched back against a wall and was in the process of lighting his long awaited smoke. The first blade put out his match as it skimmed by to thunk into the wall, the second cut the cigarette off just shy of his lips. The last two twanged as they buried themselves side by each between his legs just catching the material at the crotch of his pants and pinning it to the wall. Reno, to give the man credit, didn't even flinch. He dropped his match and the ruined smoke all the while giving the chocolate striped Changeling a wounded look out of narrowed pale eyes.

"Damn it WOMAN….that wasn't funny!" He sadly spat out the stub that was left in his lips. "That was my last one!"

Yuffie added insult to injury by straightening up and bowing to the angry red head with a flourish.

* * *

Ice just stared at the girl with stunned silver eyes. These human's were just FULL of surprises! Her consternation grew when a pair of her confiscated silver laced daggers appeared in Vincent's hand and he set them down to join the two matching, long, heavy blades that rested on the leather.

His crimson eyes held her for a moment.

"Am I correct in assuming that there is a reason for the silver worked into these, other than simple aesthetics?"

Ice slid a careful finger along the intricate design in one of the blades as she formulated her answer.

"_As I am sure you have noticed, there are very few things that can cause us permanent or even lasting damage. A sibling's teeth and claws can cause fatal wounds, but steel and lead are…. ineffective. Silver though_…." Her hand stopped its dance as she tapped a claw thoughtfully against the knife and her long, elegant ears twitched at the metal's pure ring.

"_…all of the Troop are "allergic" to this accursed metal. Any injury inflicted by it is very slow to heal and if severe enough, it poisons the body causing death."_

Valentine gave a slight nod as if she was affirming something he had already figured out. The gunslinger looked away at the ninja's sudden exclamation of

"GROSS!…I don't think so!"

Reno had evidently made the suggestion that since SHE was the one who had placed the knives against his crotch she should be the one to remove them. At Valentine's dark look the man hastily yanked them out of the spot they were nestled in, and handed them with a cocky smile to the waiting woman.

Crimson eyes narrowed a little and then settled back on Ice's long muzzled face.

"Will this …allergy…affect Yuffie?"

The cinnamon female's eye's darkened as her inner eyelids flicked across them in doubt. Her answer was hesitant at best.

"_I…..don't …..know_?" She nodded towards Yuffie's striped form. _"We have never dealt with a first level Changeling before. All I have been going on so far is what my instincts tell me." _

Whisper had slipped up to the table and was looking over the weapons there with naked desire in his red eyes. He huffed softly, and glanced sideways as Yuffie rejoined them. Moving with blurring speed, he scooped up a small blade and slashed it across the ninja's forearm, opening a long shallow cut. Ice had moved to stop him, and she froze along with him as the Albino found himself looking down Cerberus's triple barrels while the girl yelped in delayed reaction. Whisper hunkered down as Ice plucked the blade from his now limp hand and slowly moved to stand between him and the gun. She wasn't worried about Valentine KILLING her brother…after all the gun was only loaded with lead. STILL…she did not want to see him have to suffer through the trauma of a close range head shot.

She growled softly at the White and it sounded suspiciously like a hoarsely muttered…."STUPID!"

The male flattened his ears, shrugged, and gave a sheepish, close lipped, humble smile.,

"It was the fastest and surest way to find out… See?…."

He gave the now irate gunman an apologetic look as they all watched the cut on Yuffie's arm slowly knit itself closed.

Ice reached out….carefully….and traced her finger through the small amount of blood left behind. The ninja flinched and mumbled "Ewww!" as the females then licked the blood off her finger only to wrinkle her lips in distaste and hastily spit it out.

At Vincent's arched eyebrow she shrugged,

"_There is enough of a reaction there that it is delaying her healing factor somewhat….BUT….if that were Whisper or myself it would not have healed at all without first having the residual silver cleaned out. It seems my…..unwise….brother has answered your question... Is he forgiven_?"

Ice turned her head offering her throat, as did said brother. Technically, Whisper should have asked the question that Troop protocol demanded of a subordinate member to an Alpha. But since the White had not formally accepted Vincent as his dominant….Ice felt it was acceptable for her, as a member of Valentine's Troop, to ask it.

The pale gunslinger nodded with a barely heard…Hnnnn…. and much to Ice's relief he holstered that awesome gun. Giving her brother a dirty look, Ice handed eight of the ten throwing blades to Yuffie and watched as the girl sheathed them in the various places provided for them in her harness. Ice then concealed the remaining two on herself, and sheathed two of the heavy daggers in their comforting, familiar places at her wrists. Vincent got handed one dagger and Ice flipped the other to Reno who nodded a quiet thanks in her direction. She caught his pale eye in a direct gaze.

"_RENO…..don't count on your odd, electrical weapon stopping one of my brother's….It may slow him down but I doubt it can kill a Were."_

He nodded again as his amazing red brows creased in thought_._

Ice stopped and included all but Whisper in her hard, silver gaze.

_"Listen carefully... and this goes for ALL of you…..IF we run into the Troop or Sergeant….do NOT close with them. Hit fast, and hard, then run….NONE of you, with the exception of MAYBE Vincent or Chaos, has even a small chance of surviving close quarter battle with a Troop male or the beast that Sergeant's become."_

The female dug into a small pocket in the very end of the roll and pulled out Sergeant's pistol, this she reluctantly handed over to the gunman along with its specialized clip.

_"Vincent, this holds ten silver bullets….they were made in case any one of the Troop needed to be… euthanized. As I am sure you are aware, as a ballistic metal, silver sucks! Use them ONLY at close range, they do NOT fly true."_

Ice gave her brother a thoughtful look and then she scooped up a tangled mass of leather, buckles, and metal. The cinnamon female held them out to the suddenly still male.

"_Brother…down here, you will be needing the use of these more then I." _

Whisper's garnet eye's widened as he hesitantly accepted her gift. Ice nodded with satisfaction as the male slipped the Death Orchids over his hands and flexed his wrists. He gave a nasty, gape mouthed smile as six inches of wicked, razor sharp, needle tipped, silver laced steel slid over and down to augment his own natural claws. She caught his long jaw in her hands to catch his attention, and gave him her tactic approval to take over her sanctuary when she left. (Ice sighed…. It was not as if she would be returning here)…

"_The codes to open the doors to HOME correspond to the date of our births_. _Take care of and …enjoy? …it for me._"

Ice was surprised when her brother looked away, not able to meet her eyes, his mane was sucked in tight, a sure sign of deep distress. The female swallowed a sudden and terrible pain that formed a lump in her ravaged throat. She realized that having lost her siblings out of her life once, she did not relish the thought of loosing THIS particular brother…. again. She gave his narrow muzzle a quick, self conscious swipe with her warm tongue and quickly turned away to finish gathering up what she felt was needed for her final trip into the Dark.

* * *

A deep rumbling roar split the air, vibrating the very girders that Steel was carefully traversing. One quick glance to make sure his Second was alert to the danger, then the big gray stopped, wedge shaped head lifting and turning as he looked for the source of the deafening noise. The Alpha male spat out several obscenities as he ducked down in instinctual fear as the shadow of a huge airship passed over him. What in the HELL had Ice stirred up? As if it wasn't bad enough that his cursed SISTER had some how or another riled Sergeant up enough that the monster had escaped his confinement….NOW there were Shinra helicopters and this monstrous airship crisscrossing the ruins in an evident search pattern.

GODS! Not for the first time, Steel found himself wishing that he had taken the time to finish THAT particular kill so many years ago. Long, white fangs were bared in a truly nasty smile. It was not a mistake he would make again. That rogue female had caused his Troop to much trouble and been responsible for too many deaths for Steel to even consider forgiving her, fertile breeding stock or not.

Steel's pale green eye's narrowed as they watched the airship turn and quarter away from them. He rumbled softly at Shadow to catch his attention. As soon as the black's golden eyes turned up to him he pointed towards the Troop's temporary lair, spun his hand and then gestured towards the Deep. Shadow nodded his understanding and headed up to gather the Troop together. Steel snarled viciously and headed down the girders. There was no getting around it, he was going to have to move the Troop back down into The Dark. Being recaptured by Shinra was a fate that the big male would not condemn ANY of his Troop to. They would just have to take their chances and hope they could avoid running into Sergeant. Ice though…WELL…. Steel just HOPED that they would run into that sneaky, cinnamon and gold sibling. The male's heavy head nodded grimly, he would make damned sure that if that… joyous… reunion happened…. it would be for the FINAL time.

* * *

Dr. Angelique Destinie studied the corpse that was laid out on her autopsy table. This was an interesting, but not unexpected twist. The young woman had been brought in from the ruins after the big Turk's field report. She had died from a broken neck but it was very obvious from the deep slashes on her lush breasts and the heavy bruising between her shapely legs that she had been raped before dying. Humming softly to herself, the Doctor slipped a speculum into it's appropriate place. The humming modulated into a low whistle at the sight of the serious, bloody damage that had been done inside that tight passage. That explained the broken neck. ALL of the Troop had been harshly drilled in "finishing" the kill if there was even a chance of their mutating virus entering a human's bloodstream.

Long fingers drummed a nervous tattoo on the still white leg of the body. Humming distractedly again, the Scientist worked it out in her head. Steel had NEVER shown an interest in human females. As the Alpha male of the Troop (under Sergeant….of course….and wasn't THAT a total fuck up!), he had no need. Shadow though….he had shown interest in a woman before and Steel would look the other way since it was his Second and the object of the Black's desire was not a Troop female…..No… when it had been discovered that the Second Ranked male was taking his human form to court and "dally" with one of the young intern's and that SHE had allowed him to bed her, Angelique's dry lips twisted in a cruel smile. Well…. let's just say that at Hojo's suggestion and with some inventive input of her own, the punishment for the both of them had been swift and brutal.

The Doctor and Angelique had been there to witness the severe beating that Steel was ordered to give Shadow, and watching the other Troop males get a turn at mounting the pretty, vivacious young woman…Well….THAT had been a…titillating….experience to say the least. All of the big males except Shadow, and Whisper had indulged themselves. What made the scene even more twisted and… erotic… to the watching scientists, (and Angelique HADN'T been the only voyeuristic watcher…no sirree) was that no Were male would take their human form willingly amongst other males, and Angelique had made SURE that the girl was positioned in such a way that she could clearly see the beasts as they rode her to her death. Her screams had been….delicious.

It had been an effective lesson for Shadow and any other male who might have been contemplating making a sexual advance to a human. The Second ranked male had been forced to watch his chosen mate's cruel fate and after the other males had several goes at her and when she had been damaged enough that a "Change" was eminent, HE had been the one forced to euthanize the battered, bleeding thing.

Dr. Destinie shifted uncomfortably…damn…you would think at her age those base desires would be long gone, but YUMMMM…. what a memory! She had LOVED working under (hehehe) Hojo! Hmmm… yes… she seriously doubted that this was Shadow's doing. It had to be Titan's work. The little intern's punishment had gone a long ways towards igniting a cruel passion in that particular beast and now with no controls on him it looked like he was taking every opportunity to sate them.

Still it brought up the fact that when Shadow had screwed (she refused to use the term…made love…he was an animal after all!) the young woman while in his almost human form, there had been no sign that the virus had been transferred. And Angel knew for a fact that their little affair had gone on for a month or two. The woman's brow furrowed as she made her first long Y shaped incision on the corpse. Could the intern have eventually been impregnated by Shadow?….and if that had happened, MAYBE the answer to stabilizing a first generation Change was somehow hidden away amongst the fetus's stem cells. Her scalpel froze for a moment….Hmmmmm that was something that she would have to investigate a little more in depth when she managed to spirit Ice and…what was the other animal's name?….Ah yes… Yuffie, away to the remote secret lab she was setting up in the Neibelhiem mountains. If she could not find and capture one of the Brothers, she could always use the sperm she had harvested from Lahar's corpse. There was enough there to not only impregnate the Changeling but also another….completely human female. Or…. Would the same stem cells be present in the fetus of a human male/Were female pairing? Hell, lets face it…Finding a male volunteer to impregnate Ice shouldn't be to terribly difficult. There were a lot of MEN who would screw ANYTHING if it had the appropriate parts. The woman though, that might be more difficult, especially if Angel could capture a male. Most women would not appreciate oh…Titan or Steel's dubious charms. You can just bet that if she had access to a Troop Male, like HELL if she would use artificial insemination. It would be done with a live cover, and Angel would SO love to witness the execution of that particular EXPERIMENT in person! The Doctor covertly squirmed again, dropped the scalpel into her tray, and lifted the rib spreaders, a wicked smile playing across her thin lips. Now the only question in her mind was….. Where was she going to find a suitable female…volunteer?

* * *

Cloud tightened his grip on the railing he was leaning over as the Shera II lifted and keeled over. The swordsman could hear Highwind swearing as he fought the wheel, righting the great airship. The Captain had agreed to transport the group to Neibelhiem only after Cloud had assured him there would be no funny business from the Shinra scientists when it came to Vincent. The ex-Soldier's meeting with the sweet natured Dr. Destinie had gone a long ways towards soothing any apprehensions he had on that score.

An approaching front had kept the pilot circling the wreck of the great city until the gruff man had been informed that there had been no contact from the ex-Turk or Yuffie since they had entered the ruins. Then, ignoring the danger of the unpredictable wind currents that swirled around the skeletal city in advance of the storm, Cid had willingly joined the Shinra helicopters as they flew their in search patterns. The air was blistered again as the airship bucked like a living thing, and the spokes of the spinning helm cracked hard against the Captain's forearm. He used his whole broad shouldered, lithe frame to stop it and get it straightened out again.

"Son of a Bastard!…. Cloud, do ya fucking see any shitting sign of em down there?"

Cloud caught a glimpse of narrowed, cerulean eyes glaring at him through the paneled windows as he staggered again before catching his balance against the ship's gyrations.

The man looked like he had bitten his ever present cigarette in half.

"Damn it!… BOY!….GET a fricken safety harness on before ya go over the GODS be damned side and get fuckin splattered, ya stupid shit!"

The swordsman was hit with the sudden epiphany that the…polite…suggestion was probably a good one, being as how he was getting a disconcertingly clear view of the long drop under them and the jagged stop at the end of it. He managed to get himself worked through the door, wincing at the wave of obscenities and tobacco smoke that wafted his way through the warm air.

Cid was growling in an almost continuous stream of foul language whose subject matter not only included the weather, the Shera II, Vincent, Shinra, Cloud, and the powers that be, but also his own biased view of the whole situation. The swordsman carefully hid a slight smile as the man tossed him a harness. The Captain was pissed off enough that he had gone so far as to include an occasional rude hand gesture and a suggestive thrust of his hips in his tirade.

Before heading back out onto the viewing deck, the blonde ran a tired hand through his spiky hair and tried his cell one more time. All he got were his friend's voice mail… again. Evidently there was enough metal and residual Mako energy down there that it was interfering with phone reception. Looking up he met a hopeful, blue eyed look from the suddenly quiet Cid. The Captain looked away in disappointment at the ex-Soldier's slight head shake, and his lips tightened around his already mangled cigarette. He silently cursed as he banked the shuddering aircraft into a tight turn, preparing to make another pass over the desolate ruins. Just what had that friggin brat dragged Vincent into this time?

* * *

Whisper sat perfectly still, tail coiled stiffly on top of and around his folded feet as he watched this odd little Troop getting ready to walk out of his life. He blinked, lips pulling back in a closed mouthed, unhappy smile when Yuffie threw her arms around his neck and soundly kissed him on his pink nose before she followed Ice out of the common room. The Albino didn't realize it, but he started to shift his weight from foot to hand to foot again when Reno lifted one hand lazily in slight wave and gave a soft

"Yo…Whisper…," as he slipped out the door.

Vincent was the last to leave. After a slow scan of the room, the Alpha male met Whisper's red eyes with a direct crimson gaze of his own. There was that odd flicker of gold through garnet as the demon that resided in the man stirred, then Valentine gave the White a slight nod in farewell and he was gone.

A half hour passed where the only sound in Ice's sanctuary was the whir of the air filtration system and the soft rustles and squeaks coming from the rat cages. Whisper did not realize he was still rocking from hand to foot then back to hand until a soft keening sound penetrated the silence. It stopped, as with a slight start the male realized that it was coming from him, he had been whining very deep down in his throat. The Albino snorted, he was soooo pathetic! Jumping up, Whisper scooted over to the rat cages. It only took a moment to prop the little doors open so the critters could come and go as they pleased. Next the White shot into the kitchen where he scattered Ice's whole stash of M.E.R.'s on the floor. He took a second to admire his handiwork , then satisfied that Ice's pet's/food wouldn't starve any time soon if he didn't return, he scampered over to the door. He stopped for a second, a huge, gape mouthed grin plastered on his face. HELL….who wanted to live forever if it meant being stuck down here ALONE?

Whisper shot out the door, and down the dim corridor that he knew Ice would be following. The Were was going so fast as he skidded around a corner that the little scene there hardly had time to register before he barreled full tilt into Yuffie. They went down in a thrashing pile of arms, legs, and tails. The chocolate striped Changeling was trying to suppress her giggles as she wrapped the big male in a strangle hold hug and Ice did not help when she entered the fray, not to help the Albino out, but to wrap him up in another set of arms, legs, and tail, as she smothered him in her own hug. Reno gave Valentine a rueful shrug, not bothering to suppress his grin at Whispers pleas for the two females to… "let him up….he couldn't BREATHE!"

* * *

Vincent felt his own lips twitch at Chaos's snicker,

"I TOLD YOU HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STAND IT."

The Galian beast joined in the gloating, it had been at his suggestion that the others stop and wait a little while. The Were beast had known that Whisper would be unable to handle the deafening silence of being left alone after having had a taste of BELONGING again, even if it had only been for a little while.

Vincent holstered Cerberus as he watched the three Weres get themselves untangled, no mean feat when you took into account there was at least fifteen feet of combined tail involved. He caught the glimmer of red eyes as Whisper grinned at him, it seemed that pulling the big gun on the White was becoming a habit.

The ex-Turk's answering smile faded a little as the Albino rose up on his hind feet, straightening up to his full intimidating height. Whisper walked over until he stood in front of Vincent, his bloody eyes searching the man's face. Then, much to the gunman's shock, the big male dropped, laying himself down at his chosen Alpha's feet and rolling his head to expose his very vulnerable throat. The man stood, looking down at the submissive white form, frozen for a moment. He was fully aware of what the Were was offering him and he did not want the awesome responsibility of another life placed in his tainted hands. Vincent felt Chaos stir and before he knew what the demon was doing, the gunman found himself kneeling by the White, his flesh hand curving around to encircle the long muzzle and his clawed hand burying itself in the silky mane that covered that thick throat. Whispers red eyes flicked sideways to look at him for a second, then they closed, as those elegant, shell like ears flattened.

The male's body language was very clear.

"I give my life to you….do with it what you will."

Vincent snarled,

"What the HELL?…Chaos!"

The demon snarled right back!

"YOU… WILL…. NOT…. REFUSE THIS PRINCELY GIFT, VINCENT VALENTINE!"

The Galian beast hummed softly in distress,

"**If you refuse him, master of mine, he will die down here out of sheer loneliness.**"

The gunman looked up, Yuffie had both hands tightly wrapped around her muzzle, and Ice was rocking from foot to hand, and back to foot again. Her silver eyes were huge, and….hopeful?

Whisper it seemed had quit breathing, so still was he, but Vincent could feel the pounding of his powerful heart in the pulse that throbbed beneath his fingers.

"Hnnnn…"

Making his decision, the ex-Turk tightened his gauntlet's gleaming claws, piercing through that velvety skin just enough to draw a pin prick of blood. Then, he released the Were's muzzle giving it a soft pat as he straightened up allowing the male to rise. The look on Whisper's long face was blissful as both females rushed forwards to enveloped him in hugs again.

Chaos rumbled softly.

"WELL DONE, VALENTINE."

Vincent couldn't stop the small snort that escaped him.

"I think I liked you better when you were calling me HOST!"

* * *

As always it would be nice to hear from my readers.


	14. Chapter 14

This is a not for profit fanfiction. I make no money from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to this particular story line and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 14

Ice carefully picked her way, leading the group through a tangled mass of twisted metal. They had been slowly moving up through the Deep for a long six hours. This back way did not have as much girder climbing as the usual route she took, but this was compensated by the fact that it was many miles longer. And… where they did have to climb, the metal beams were terribly dilapidated and more difficult to negotiate. The two men in the Troop were very much handicapped when it came to climbing in this steel jungle. The Were snorted quietly and was glad she was in front where she could hide her grin. Lets face it, the humans only had two hands and NO tail. How DID they manage in their every day lives?

The female stopped for a moment, inspecting the rotting steel and tracing the most likely path with narrowed silver eyes. Ice very much wanted to be making better time. Between Vincent's sensitive senses and the Were's in depth knowledge of the ruins, they had been incredibly lucky so far in that they had managed to avoid any run ins with the mutated monsters that called this place home. Long ears slanted back as she listened to Reno's rasping breath, and picked up the softer sound of Yuffie and Whisper panting. They were going to have to stop and rest soon. The only one of the Troop not showing any sign's of physical stress was Valentine. This did not surprise the cinnamon female, she had felt the power and vitality that was contained within Chaos, and it only stood to reason that the winged Alpha's strength would be there for the altered human Alpha to draw upon as needed.

With a soft grunt of effort, Ice pulled herself up to stand on the platform leading into the next level. The map in her head told her they were only a couple of levels down from one of the entrances to the surface city. She turned and offered Reno a hand up, only to have her body lock up in a spasm of pain as she reached down to him. The sharp, glass like fire in her bones and the burning itch that ran across her skin were fore-warnings of an eminent Change. A soft…Hnnn…. escaped her in shock. She had not experienced a Change that wasn't self triggered since her early adolescence, a time in a Were's life that was notorious for its wild hormone swings. Totally embarrassed by her sudden lack of control, Ice fought her body's traitorous need to Change. With an iron will she brought the transformation to a stand still, but the unexpected hot knifing cramps that shot through her abdomen had her curling reflexively in shock and pain. This skewed her balance enough that she slipped off of the edge of the platform.

* * *

Reno had looked up and had his hand around Ice's strong wrist in preparation to hoisting himself up. The only warning he had that something was off, was an odd sibilant hum from the female.

"YO….you okay I….?"

was all The Turk had time for as the Were's silver eyes widened in shock, then changed to slate grey. Her body seemed to spasm as she slipped over the edge.

"WHOA!….SHIT!"

Reno tightened his grip, but was practically jerked off of his perch as he tried to support the female's full, falling weight. Ice weighed considerably more than her frame let on and it wasn't helping that her muscles were jerking and sliding as if she were caught in a seizure of some kind. The man just did not have the grip needed to support both of them. Reno was swearing as he managed to hook a leg, temporarily stopping his slide. The Turk knew that this tenuous hold would only save them for a few seconds.

A soft rumble warned him not to be startled as a blur of white swung by him to latch on to Ice with three limbs. Whisper formed a basket with his powerful body to shepherd the female to where she could get some hand and tail holds. From his upside down position Reno had a clear view of the seemingly bottomless drop. He could see Valentine braced further down on the girders where there was some free air space. The gold glimmering in the gunslinger's hot crimson eyes combined with a hint of red and black mist coalescing around his still form, showed how close the man was to releasing the winged Chaos if a mid air catch was needed. This brought an odd twisting pang to the red head's chest. He was amazed that the pale, tormented man would even consider Shifting to one of his OTHER despised forms to save someone as corrupt and useless as a hated Shinra Turk. Especially one who had done something as…evil… as dropping a section plate on thousands of innocent people… Of course…. the demon probably had orders to catch only Ice. Yeah that was probably it.

"Hold on Reno!"

Flowing silver and chocolate heralded the arrival of Yuffie. The Changed woman got a hold of him and swung the man around to where she could bracket his shaking form between her compact, warm body and the girders, it only took a moment for him to get a firm hold again.

"Got it?"

This was whispered in his ear and at his quick nod the ninja scampered up the steel. Reno watched with no small amount of envy as Yuffie was sure to anchor that strong prehensile tail before she moved either her hands or feet. The damned girl was PROBABLY taking lessons from Whisper on how to move safely through this twisted ruin. GODS….he WANTED one of those tails! The woman's honey gold eyes were swirling with a mix of laughter and concern as she hung back over the edge to offer him a hand up.

A quick scramble and Reno was beside the ninja giving Ice a hand as she pulled herself over the edge with a helpful boost to her behind from Whisper. The Were female seemed more than a little dazed and out of sorts. Whisper hung back and gave Valentine a similar boost up and over.

Reno hid a smile at Yuffie's jealous…

"HEY…hands off the package, SNOWBALL!…."

The startled widening of Vincent's red eyes gave an indication of where the beast's strong hands had been placed for the relatively unneeded help.

Whisper's smugly smiling head popped over as he was the last to he pull himself up.

"What?…"

The White's laughing, slanted look, and sly shrug convinced everyone that WHERE ever his paws had been placed, it was anything but innocent.

* * *

Whisper had been stunned when his normally sure footed sister fell. The Albino had surged UP as Reno lost his grip, and he was at the redhead's side in the time it took to draw a breath. Swinging out, he managed to get his hands and a foot on Ice and get her firmly pressed between himself and the rusting steel. The White almost dropped her again when he caught the full brunt of her scent…. HOLY SHIT!….Whisper snapped his jaw shut. He was pretty sure he KNEW what had happened up above and as he helped his sister over the rim, he couldn't help but wonder if SHE was aware of what was behind the problem. He doubted it, she had been away from the Troop before ANY of them had reached sexual maturity. He was tempted to verify his theory by tonguing her as he pushed her up, but figured that their perch was too precarious to risk distracting her. He would just have to try and sneak it in later. Ice would probably brain him if Chaos didn't get to him first. This thought caused a small shudder to ripple through him, BUT he had to be SURE before he said anything.

Whisper shifted to the side as his Alpha moved up to finish the climb. OHHHH…..Well now…. but wasn't that just NICE. Red eyes blinked dreamily as the crimson cape (yes…the man had ACTUALLY washed the thing and returned it to his shoulders as he left HOME) slid one way baring the gunslinger's tight, well muscled, perfectly shaped, black clad… ass… as it moved past the male's long face. For a second Whisper's blunt fingered hands just…. hovered… DAMN…He was doomed, he could not help himself. After all, Vincent could sprout wings if he fell while being distracted. Each hand cupped a cheek, thumbs nestling coyly BETWEEN as he pushed the man up and over the edge. The White sighed blissfully as he gave both of the man's firm buns a light squeeze in the passing.

Snickering softly as he heard the Alpha male's chosen mate protest his actions, Whisper hauled himself up last. Oh yes…. that little grope was well worth a little chewing out. Still…. when the demon ridden gunslinger turned to pin him with a LOOK, the White did his level best to look innocent.

* * *

The first thing Valentine did after giving Whisper a long, HARD… look was to check on Ice. The cinnamon female SEEMED to be all right and when pressed she just shrugged and signed,

"_Just tired, got a little dizzy."_

"THAT WAS A FLAT OUT LIE!" Chaos sounded seriously offended. "I THOUGHT THAT WERE'S COULDN'T LIE?"

"Hnnn…I don't believe either Ice or Whisper ever came right out and SAID that."

Vincent agreed with the ancient being though, Ice was hiding something. And when he caught the wide eyed, disbelieving look that Whisper shot his sister's way, the ex-Turk started to worry a little. He determined that maybe he had better keep a close watch on the female.

"HMPH….NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT! NOW THAT I HAVE FINALLY FOUND A GOOD PIECE OF…TAIL….ON THIS GODS FORSAKEN WORLD I DON"T INTEND TO LET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Oh GREAT!….Vincent couldn't help but cringe a little as the Galian beast made it clear he approved of Chaos's plan.

"Are either one of you ever going to tell me what exactly went on between you and Ice?"

All he got in response were two smug…resounding…"No's!"

It was mutually decided that the group needed to take a rest and eat. Valentine and Reno had been sure to bring some of Ice's M.E.R's, AND bottled water to wash the goopy rations down. Yuffie looked at the one that Vincent gave her and made gagging motions. She shot the gunman an outraged look when he made it clear that he did not need to eat.

"Oh no you don't. There is no way I am having to eat these things if you don't!"

Ice looked up from where she was sitting, toes invariable folded one over the other. The female looked positively nauseous as she forced herself to eat and her narrowed silver eyed glare was a threat in itself. Whisper just held his pack, licking his lips in a sick way. He also planted his rump, folded his toes and gave the gunman a look that said… I am not eating THIS until you do. Reno grinned, and ignoring Vincent's glare he managed to give a fair imitation of the way the three Were's were sitting, minus the coiled tail of course, he toasted the gunslinger with his pack.

Fine….Valentine had eaten many of the military rations while he was an operating Turk, they had to have been improved in the 40 or so years since he had last been forced to eat one….OH…. as Yuffie would say…GROSSNESS! NO such luck….his total disgust was wrapped up in the three simple words that Chaos spat out..

"THAT'S JUST… NASSSTY!"

Being as how he had seen some of the things that the demon CHOSE to dine on….Vincent felt that this wasn't an understatement. Even so, the gunman managed to down the whole pack and even sucked some (trying to ignore Whisper's suddenly bright and avid gaze) off of a finger as it was trying to slide in an oozy, almost living way towards his hand. He then crossed his arms, gleaming claws tapping a restless tattoo on his forearm while he let loose of Chaos a little so that the demon could glare at the rest of their little Troop. By the Gods if the Dark Lord had to stomach the gross stuff, even by proxy, everyone else was damn well going to eat it and LIKE it.

* * *

Dr. Marian Beckett gave the small medical bay a last quick once over. The Captain of the airship must have finally decided that continuing the search was NOT an option when the leading edge of the oncoming storm had finally hit. Her medical equipment had taken a bit of a beating before the man had managed to wrestle the ship into a position where it could be anchored to ride out the worst of the bad weather. The mighty machine was still rocking and an occasional shudder would pass through its sturdy frame, but it had stilled enough that she could come down and make sure things were in order in her newly acquired department.

The young woman gave a satisfied nod….everything was as it should be. She ran an admiring hand over the state of the art miniature MRI scanner, marveling at the money that had to have been spent in order to provide the highly advanced, hi-Tech machines that were being transported to be used in her assigned task. A couple of days ago, she had been happy just to have access to a regular x-ray machine and the power to run it.

The woman had just been finishing her stint as an intern when the mighty Shinra Corporation had collapsed. The resulting power shortages and economical upheaval had made practicing her chosen medical field impossible. Just being able to scrape together the supplies she needed to treat what patients she had was difficult to do, and actually making a living….that was a joke! Lets face it, when people did not have the resources to take care of their families, their pets and livestock were moved to the bottom of the priority list!

Luckily, her secondary specialty had been on the veterinarian care and medical treatment of Chocobos. These useful birds were even more in demand now, and there was always a need for a good inexpensive Vet that knew how to deal with them. This fact had kept her from starving. There was absolutely NO call for the exotic species medical training she had gotten her Masters in. Almost all of the zoos had collapsed after Meteor and lab primates were not usually afforded medical care. This is why it had come as a complete shock when Dr Angelique Destinie had contacted her. Shinra's top research scientist had needed a Veterinarian who specialized in Primates to operate as her hands, eyes, and ears in a top secret research project that she was organizing to take place in the small, isolated town of Neibelhiem. Evidently, the good Doctor was conducting invaluable research where she was at and could not physically be away from the ongoing experiments that were taking place at Shinra's main laboratory. All Marian had to do was keep Shinra's prized specimen's healthy, perform what tests the good Doctor ordered, and most importantly, report her findings to ONLY Dr. Destinie. Marian had been promised a very good paycheck and a huge bonus when the research had been completed.

GODS….it would be such a relief to not have to worry about where the money would be coming from for much needed bandages and antibiotics, let alone the food for her next meal.

A harsh cough and a wave of tobacco smoke jerked her out of her thoughts, she was no longer alone. Looking up, Dr. Beckett found herself starring into a pair of narrowed, angry, cerulean blue eyes. The young woman gave the grizzled Captain of the airship a hesitant smile and shyly tried to introduce herself. Captain Highwind had been occupied keeping them airborne since she had boarded and they had not been introduced. The man regarded her extended hand as if she carried some exotic disease and his thin lips tightened around his ever present smoke.

"Didn't come down here to fucking make nice. Your stinkin Shinra ass has NO business being on board my damned ship!"

Cid Highwind was not one to keep his opinion private, this she had heard. But….his outright hostility took her by surprise. After all, he did not know a thing about her as a person. The Vet quickly withdrew the extended hand. She was NOT a social person and she hated confrontation, this was one of the main reasons she preferred to work with animals. THEY had no hidden agenda's.

Rough, calloused fingers scraped through the blonde's short hair and then removed the cigarette from his mouth to stab in her direction.

"Just came down ta give ya a fucking friendly heads up! Valentine is goin ta be royally pissed off when Chocobo BUTT tells him about this friggin crackpot scheme. The man is going to blow a Gods be damned gasket when he finds out we are heading for that gods forsaken, creepy, shit hole of a mansion and he will probably let that bat winged fucker from hell… OUT… When he finds out there is a Shinra white coat, and a fucking DOCTOR to boot, stuck on board with him." Cid's lips curled in a nasty smile. "If I was in your Shinra ass kissin shoes, I would be DAMNED sure to make my miserable presence shitting scarce when that happens…. else ya might find your friggin lucky self taking a damned short flight back to earth!"

With that, Cid turned, giving her an unimpeded view of his broad shouldered, well muscled back as he slammed the door hard on his way out.

Marian sagged against an exam table, trying to control the sudden fit of the shakes that over ran her body and she swallowed hard against the overwhelming need to expel what was in her roiling stomach. Certainly the Captain hadn't meant THE Vincent Valentine?….Angel had said NOTHING about being in close proximity to someone as dangerous as THAT particular individual was reported to be. GODS…what kind of twisted monkey business had she gotten herself roped into?

* * *

Ice was leading the group up a wide, slightly sloped, avenue. Dark, gaping doorways, and broken windows bracketed both sides of the dimly lit path and there was a hint of airflow through some of the passages that occasionally branched off to disappear into the deep. Reno followed the cinnamon female, keeping very close to her trotting heels. Yuffie flashed a honey gold look Whisper's way and as if in unspoken agreement, he took up position traveling to the left, just slightly ahead of the Turk and she traveled to the right and slightly behind. This way, either one of them could be right there if Ice had another unexplained episode. It also served the purpose of secretly bracketing Reno, their weakest Troop member, in a pocket comprised of almost indestructible muscle and bone. Valentine's powerful, intimidating presence traveled silently behind, closing that pocket and also serving as an impenetrable rear guard.

Yuffie swung her long muzzled head. The enhanced senses of this Were beast body were incredible, but it was taking some getting use to. When they had been moving in pitch blackness, her vision had been in the infrared range, it had been very odd to see her companions as heat sources rather than in her usual colored vision. Now that they had moved up to where there was a dim light, her eye's had adjusted and she was seeing as if she was in a well lit room.

Even more difficult to deal with was the whole new world of smell that had opened up to her sensitive, broad nose. She was spending a great deal of time just trying to decipher and categorize the different odors that wafted around and into her twitching nostrils. She had managed to "label" all of her companions with their fingerprint scent. Reno's was a complex mix of contrasts were as Whisper, believe it or not reminded her of a bouquet of subtle flowers. Vincent's was not much different than what her human nose had detected but there was a complex layering of hot spice and tantalizing musk that she associated with his demons. Ice….here she was a little confused, Ice had the sweet, clean smell that perfumed the air in the cherry orchards of Wuttai right after a thunder storm. But…. in the last eight hours her personal scent had been changing, the scent of fresh fertile earth and the spice of summer winds was layered in, making her signature musk, a rich and complex thing. It was a mesmerizing smell to say the least. The chocolate striped beast that was Yuffie snuck a quick glance Whisper's way. She was positive that the big male had noticed the change also…. as he kept creeping up on Ice, long muzzle lifting as he took delicate sniffs when ever the female seemed preoccupied.

Yuffie's attention centered back on Ice as the female slowed and then came to a stop. They were in a cul-de-sac. The only exit out of it, other than the way they had come, was a large archway. The ninja slipped up next to the hesitant female, and immediately saw what had stopped her. The area directly in front of and around the passageway's entrance had been layered in what looked like soft, creamy white silk. Small ruffles and banners of the stuff also decorated the walls, windows and one large, partially collapsed doorway that surrounded them.

"Damn…that really looks creepy! Let me guess, THAT is the only way outta here…right?"

The girl was really hoping Ice would say…naw…just brought you this way as a joke… but… no such luck.

The golden female shuddered and her hands danced.

"_That wasn't here last time I came this way." _Slanted silver eye's glimmered hopefully at her. "_Do you have any idea what it is?"_

All three Were's long, shell like ears slanted back as Vincent, ever silent, appeared out of the passage they had been following. His elegant brows furrowed down as he knelt to inspect the silk swathed arch. Yuffie slipped over to stand at his side.

"Hnnnn…. this reminds me of…. something?"

He slipped his hand out of its incasing leather and delicately stroked the odd material with a long, pale finger. Yuffie froze as her memory reminded her of how sweet that firm, but oh so gentle touch, could be.

(DAMN…. mind out of the gutter, monkey girl…. this is NOT the time or place!)

She had to hastily look away when the gunman's crimson eyes slid to meet hers. It was a good thing this beast body was incapable of blushing. Although…. Yuffie did have the odd feeling that her SCENT might have blushed, because Whisper snorted, blinked at her, and then quietly snickered.

* * *

"IT REMINDS ME OF SPIDER SILK." Chaos shifted uncomfortably, "OF COURSE… IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A VERY…VERY…LARGE…SPIDER."

Vincent absently disregarded the demon's opinion,

"Spiders CAN'T get that big Chaos. It is a physical impossibility."

The demon Lord snorted derisively…

"YES, AND IT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO HOUSE FOUR OTHER ENTITIES IN YOU MIND, BE IMMORTAL, AND… OH YES, BY YOUR LAWS OF PHYSICS, I… CAN'T…. FLY….!"

Valentine held his tongue. The Dark Lord had made some good points. CRAP…a sudden unsettling thought occurred to him.

The demon was one step ahead of him and there was no trace of humor in his deep, solemn voice.

"YEAH…WHAT EVER YOU DO…DON'T… TELL…ICE! MAYBE WE WILL GET LUCKY AND IF IT.. IS… A CREEPY CRAWLY… IT WILL BE OUT TO LUNCH."

* * *

Whisper wasn't sure what the hold up was. He knew that this was the only way they had to go now. To backtrack would be, quite possibly, suicidal. The Albino moved forwards with the intention of entering the arch, killing whatever might be there and moving on. A hard hand dropped onto his shoulder, strong fingers twisting painfully into his mane.

"Ummm YO… Don't trigger the trip wires."

Reno knelt and Whisper was able to follow the line of his pointing finger. There was a definite pattern of almost transparent lines of silk laid in such a way as to be invisible against the creamy white of the silk blanketing the entrance.

The red head pulled the Were back a little and his breath hissed into a twitching ear.

"I am pretty sure I saw something BIG moving in there."

Whisper was in the process of turning to look at the man when he saw his sister stiffen up out of the corner of his eye. He also saw the weird wave that passed over her frame as she fought her body's sudden need to Change. SHIT! Without giving himself time to chicken out, the White dove forwards and shoved his nose under his sibling's long tail and between her legs. He practically lifted her hind end off of the ground as he ran his tongue over and in her nether parts, and then dropped her in order to back off, tongue curled against the roof of his mouth and teeth chattering together as he drew air in to analyze her pheromones. Whisper had been sure that Ice would be so caught up in the pain of Change that she wouldn't be able re-act. The male was trying to pick himself up off of the floor before he realized that he had been WRONG! The cinnamon female had somehow spun around and cold cocked him. Oh SHIT! There was a blur of motion and the Albino realized he had forgotten another… very …important fact. Females tended to stick together!

"OH Grossness… you PERVERT!

The male didn't even have the time to duck as Yuffie spun over the top of him (How the HELL could she move like that?) and drove both fists into the top of his head making him see stars as his jaw cracked into the floor. All the big White could do was whimper a little when immensely powerful hands buried themselves in the mane around his neck and Vincent somehow yanked his three hundred plus pounds frame clean off of the ground.

"I…am…..going… to… die!" was all that ran through his frozen mind when he looked into eyes that glowed the hot gold of burning coals and not the crimson he expected. Pale lips were pulled back to expose elongated teeth and the Albino's breath was choked off by cruel, clawed fingers tightening around his throat.

"I DID… NOT… JUST SEE YOU TAKE LIBERTIES WITH YOUR OFFENSIVE TONGUE ON MY CHOSEN MATE'S BODY… HMMMM?" The demon/man gave the Were's limp body a rough shake. "BECAUSE YOU DO KNOW, IF THAT… IS… WHAT I SAW, I… AM… GOING TO RIP SAID TONGUE RIGHT OUT OF YOUR CRUDE MOUTH!"

Whisper was so terrified he was sure he was going to piss himself, but his fading attention was jerked back to his sister as she started to convulse. He managed to get his hands up to pry the demon's death grip off of his throat enough to hiss out.

"Ice! You need to permit the Change. You have KINDLED."

The Albino felt those mighty hands loosen a little, so he pushed his long face into that beautiful, pale visage.

"You have got to get her to CHANGE, she is going to harm the kitlings if she keeps fighting it!"

The male felt a grateful satisfaction when, not only did his sister's form ripple into a full Change, but HE was unceremoniously dropped, as the man in red and black released his painful hold and staggered back.

* * *

Vincent had been studying the archway and was caught by surprise when Chaos sucked in an outraged breath.

"HE DID… NOT… JUST TO THAT! I AM GOING TO…KILL…THAT PERVERTED FUCKER!"

All the gunslinger had time to register was Ice decking her brother with a beautifully executed round house punch and Yuffie joyfully following suite and flattening the big male into the dirt when he tried to get up. GODS be damned…what had he missed? Then Chaos surged up, and the ex-Turk had a real battle on his hands trying to keep the enraged demon from tearing the Albino Were's throat out. Valentine was almost completely submerged, The demon was at his strongest when fueled by rage. The gunman could not believe that the Were managed to find the strength to pry the demon's claws from around his throat and the world came to a screeching halt when the words he hissed at his sister registered. Chaos's rage flickered out like a candle caught in a hurricane.

"WHAT…..WHAT'S KINDLED?"

Vincent had a sneaking suspicion he knew, but like HELL if HE was going to be the one to tell Chaos.

"DAMN IT, VALENTINE, WHAT… ARE KITLINGS?"

The Galian beast couldn't stand it**. **

**"PUPPIES! We are going to have Puppies…? Hmmmmm…babies…? Mmmm….cubs….? Oh HELL, who cares what they are called! WE are going to be DADDY's**!

Vincent got the sudden picture of the Galian beast with his WHOLE body a wagging, not just his tail. And he found himself in sudden and complete control of his body again. Where Chaos had been, there was now just an odd humming static.

"Chaos?"

He was more than a little concerned when there was no answer. The gunman focused in and tried a little harder,

"Chaos, are you okay?"

"**Ummmm, Vincent? I don't think that Chaos is home right now." **

The beast sounded a little stunned.

"What?…where is he."

"**I think he fainted." **Galian snickered, **"Oh Yeah…he is NEVER going to live this down. He passed right out!"**

Vincent was feeling just a little woozy himself all of a sudden. Two fingers pinched the bridge of his nose and he noticed that Ice was being helped to sit up by Reno. She had Changed to the exotically ALMOST human form she had taken during her tryst with Chaos. OH GODS! Did this mean that HE was a DADDY too? Valentine decided he REALLY did not want to think about THAT right at this moment. Instead he chose to deal with the lesser drama going on inside his head.

"That is impossible Galian, Chaos does NOT faint."

* * *

Working on a couple of original stories...so re-posting this is taking a bit of a back seat. Course a few more reviews MIGHT serve as motivation!


	15. Chapter 15

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I am only playing with them for a while. I own the rights to my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 15

Sergeant had been turned into a beast, but he still retained ALL of the intelligence that was his human legacy. Even in the throes of madness he was a terrible, cunning, creation. Nothing in his massive body moved as he surreptitiously studied the small group. He knew that the Shinra Turk's were the best of the best and even with his augmented advantages of speed, strength, and indestructibility, he needed to have a perfect plan of attack in place before he struck. A soft breeze sighed past him, one of the reason's he had chosen this as his ambush site. He knew that they would have to come into this bottle neck in order to safely reach the surface. The collapsed doorway with its concealing pile of rubble and its steady breath of air moving away from the group guaranteed his invisibility until HE chose to reveal himself. When that happened it would be too late for the humans AND the Changeling. The fact that a Lurker had taken up residence in the only passage UP was just icing on the proverbial cake. With luck, he could drive at least one Turk into its lethal arms. Of course… he had to make sure that Ice did not see the damned thing before she realized she was free, else she might just panic and run right into the accursed thing too!

Yellow glazed eyes narrowed as a stray thought tried to push its way through his insanity. Why was Whisper with the Turks? There was no way that just two Turks could overpower an adult male Were unless they just flat out killed him. And the little group's formation had raised more questions in the beast's aching mind the minute he had set eyes on them. It almost looked as if Ice was WILLINGLY leading them up and out. This just did not make sense. Why hadn't the cinnamon female just euthanized the Changeling and been done with it? There was no way she would voluntarily return to Shinra's labs.

Sergeant stifled the urge to shake his buzzing head and just pushed those thoughts into a far corner where they would not confuse him. He was here to take out the Turks, kill the Changeling, and free Ice from whatever obligation he had forced on her. That was it, plain and simple. Hopefully, the Turks would cause enough damage to his failing body that he could crawl away and die, thus removing THAT particular danger from Ice's life also.

Mighty muscles tensed when Ice nailed her brother, but the beast held…waiting for a better moment. When the red headed Turk had an armful of Changed Ice (and how had the man forced her to Change into THAT vulnerable form?) and as the crimson cloaked killer staggered back, very much distracted and seemingly stunned. The beast who had once been a man struck!

Moving with an uncanny silence for a creature so massive, Sergeant surged out of his hiding place and hit Vincent from behind. The man was quick, but the events taking place inside his head blunted his reaction time. Valentine just managed to start turning when the five massive, curving claws at the end of the beast's thickly muscled arm drove down, grooving through cloak, skin, muscle and bone, from the man's shoulder, slantwise, clear down to his opposite hip. The gunslinger was instantly overwhelmed with pain and shock and did not feel as his body was cast aside like a limp rag. As this happened, Sergeant's powerful jaws closed over Yuffie's back, spanning her ribcage, biting deep, then flinging her with a twist of powerful neck muscles into the near wall.

* * *

"SHIT!"

Chaos roared to consciousness, scrambling frantically as he tried to deal with his host's potentially lethal wounds.

"**Chaos….." **

The Galian beast could see the huge ursine looking monster bearing down on them. Ice and Whisper closed ranks in front of the fallen gunslinger, shoulder to shoulder, taking a defensive posture. Reno was gliding sideways trying to flank the beast…. but the demon knew that the three wouldn't be able to stop the creature for long.

"**CHAOS!…."**

The dark lord was having real difficulties keeping Vincent alive. That monster was Were based and the GODS be cursed virus that its claws were impregnated with was interfering terribly with his immortality gene. He hissed back at the other demon!

"I…AM…OCCUPIED! DEAL WITH IT!"

* * *

Ice was shaking off the pain and cramping caused by her sudden Change when she felt Reno stiffen beside her. Following his gaze she saw the huge bulk of Sergeant explode out from under the rubble that obscured the collapsed doorway. The beast who had once been a man was endowed with incredible speed for something his size and by the time the two were up and moving, Vincent was down, and Yuffie had slammed into the wall and was lying at its base in a crumpled heap. As fast as their old Alpha was, Whisper and Ice managed to get between him and their fallen Troop members before the creature had covered half of the distance to finish the job. Sergeant slid to a halt and rose to his full intimidating sixteen foot height. Thick drooling lips pulled back to expose yellow jagged teeth and the massive humped shoulders bowed up as the beast slashed the air in front of the Weres with eight inch talons. The walls trembled at his deep, earth shattering roar…

"MOVE…. KITLINGS!"

Ice met those almost completely yellow orbs and knew there would be no reasoning with the monster. The man she had grown up to love and respect was buried too far down in insanity to be brought back up to the surface. The air shook again as Whisper came to the same conclusion and lifted to his full height. He dropped his ruffed out head, gaped his mouth wide with lips pulled back to expose his weapons to the root and engaged his throat sacks to create a thumping BOOM. Her brother was in a full dominance/threat display. Ice could not Change to her more intimidating beast form, BUT… she could match her sib in display. She flared out her mane, flattened her ears and dropped into a fighting stance. The cinnamon Were also bared elongated canines, but what caused a slight flicker in those insane yellow orbs, was her drawing the two beautiful silver daggers from their wrist sheaths with a flourish that Sergeant himself had taught her.

Brother and sister moved apart as the beast advanced, each knowing their place in this mortal dance. They got some much needed help. As Sergeant plowed into them, Reno flowed in on the monster's flank, silver blade flashing down in one hand and his trusty E.M.R sparking and buzzing as it came into play. Ice twisted to the side, blades flashing in a complex pattern as they slashed muzzle, neck and shoulder. Again the air was rattled by an ear splitting roar as the beast turned with her, huge claws splayed out as he tried to rend and tear. They connected with nothing but the wind of her passing. Ice was well trained and knew that her job was to harass and distract, not to close with a monster of Sergeant's girth and strength. That was her brother's job. Whisper spun to the off side and with an impossible running leap he was mounted on that broad rolling back. He buried his foot claws in, and flexing his wrists, he drove six inches of sharp, silver laced steel into the heavy muscling along his old Alpha's spine. Sergeant screamed and reared to tower over all of them. He gave a huge rolling twist of mighty shoulders and the Albino was thrown to slide across the floor. Ice just barely avoided being eviscerated by swinging talons as she changed course and literally slid between the beast's tree like hind legs. Reno stepped over her sliding body and smacked the broad, slavering muzzle hard with his Rod as jagged teeth reached for the female. He saved her from a nasty bite but was wasn't able to avoid the swat that drove him into the floor.

* * *

When the Galian's head cleared of the mist of Change, he saw Reno's death towering over him preparing to power down and grind the Turk into so much human jelly. Acting on instinct, the demon generated power in a heart beat and directed two balls of flame towards the shaggy, bleeding back. Usually the Were preferred a good physical fight, but he could feel the burn all down HIS back and the soft whisper of blood running as he moved. Vincent's injury had carried through the transfer, Chaos must TRULY be at his limits in dealing with this.

Still the Galian beast hissed at the more powerful demon.

"**Chaos…we are DEAD of you can't do better than this!" **

There was a savage snarl in the Galian's head and he felt the soft pattering of blood slow.

"THAT IS THE BEST I CAN DO!…DO…NOT…ADD… ANYMORE DAMAGE TO OUR HOST'S BODY!"

"Yeah right…." echoed through the lesser demon's head as he watched the giant beast absorb and then shrug off any affect his fire balls had. That massive body swung around with lethal grace and Sergeant charged at him with a blood curdling scream.

The Galian crouched and braced as he prepared to meet the charge, he saw Reno roll and gain his feet. At least he had prevented that annoying one's immediate demise. The beast knew he had miscalculated terribly when Sergeant crashed into him, SHIT! This massive twisted, bear like, Shinra creation was nothing but dense muscle, rolling fat, and heavy bone. He managed to get his own long jaw locked over the ursine creature's muzzle, preventing a crushing bite but as he was borne backwards, slashing claws connected with his flank and thigh. There was a blur of cinnamon and Ice vaulted over the writhing fighters, blades slashing down towards Sergeant's vulnerable eyes. The massive head twisted out of the Galian's grip and a wide gash opened on the heavy furrowed brow. Galian caught the disconcerting flash as those lethal blades passed close to HIS eyes, but her strike did cause the monster to rear back up off of him as a mighty arm swatted at the female. Ice was unable to twist away this time and was scooped out of the air like a fluttering moth. The Were didn't flutter at all as she was tossed across the avenue and ended up rolling almost to the archways entrance. White silk coated the gold as she struggled to get up.

The Galian managed to straighten up as he met Sergeant's next charge. Hot pain stabbed his side and the injured leg buckled as he arched to the side to avoid totally closing with the beast. A guttural, very nasty, ancient curse roiled through his head.

"I THOUGHT I SAID…NO MORE FUCKING DAMAGE!"

The big purple Were was occupied, with both arms locked around a thickly muscled, shuddering neck so he only had the attention and time for a short and terse..

"Bite…Me!"

For a moment, the demon thought he was gaining headway when Sergeant's front end suddenly dropped. Then, the once human reared up, twisted in a way that something that thick shouldn't have been able to do and wrapped mighty arms around the Galian beast's slender waist sucking him tight in a crushing embrace. He saw a flash of white and knew that Whisper was worrying at the monster's flank, but Sergeant allowed the damage, intent on dispatching the more dangerous foe. Biting claws made the Galian beast release his grip on that heavy neck and he found himself being crushed to the ground under the monster's massive, bleeding weight. Kicking with curved hind talons he tried to disembowel the mountain on top of him but the beast just shrugged off the damage.

The Galian knew he was truly screwed as he writhed under the monster's crushing mass, snapping jaws trying to keep those jagged, slashing teeth off of his own throat. There was a flash of red and Reno slid in, one knee on either side of the shaggy thrashing head. As Sergeant's gaping jaws swung up, the Turk buried his E.M.R. in the thick junction between jaw and throat as he thumbed the rod to Max. The monster gave a choking shriek as his entire body convulsed. That heavy muzzle cracked into Reno and tossed him like so much waste paper into the rubble. The trapped Galian could only groan as over a ton of bone and muscle collapsed over him. Even so, Sergeant wasn't destroyed by the severe electro magnetic shock. Hell… he did not even loose consciousness. Instead those huge curving claws shifted to pin the Galian's wrists, making sure his prey was still trapped. Then with a strained grunt, the beast gave himself a slight shake and his head dropped to look Galian right in the face. Vincent's second ranked demon froze….that look was a direct, intelligent, searching gaze with no sign of the insane rage that had filled them with yellow fire just seconds ago.

Those deep, rich, brown orbs studied him for a moment….

"YOU are an experiment…like Ice," the deep, garbled voice rumbled….Like ME?"

Galian kept his reply short. Who knew how long this monster would be rational.

"Project V…"

"Ah…that explains a lot."

Sergeant gave his shaggy shoulders a shrug, as he nodded his ragged head. He then lifted his blunt muzzle as he looked for Ice.

Galian had to stifle a yelp as the mighty bulk above him tensed and rapier sharp claws dug into his forearms.

" Ice….get the HELL out of there!" Sergeant's massive head swung down and pinned the trapped Galian beast with a frantic gaze. "That phobia is going to be the DEATH of her!"

Galian arched his back against the weight of the beast on him and got a quick glimpse of the cinnamon female. She was flattened down, seemingly mesmerized by what ever she could see lurking back in the stygian darkness of the archway. .

"OH CRAP…"

Sergeant wasn't kidding…that had to be the largest creepy crawly the demon had ever seen. The Were tried his strength against Sergeant's restraining grasp, but knew it was futile. The massive creature had him well and truly pinned. Still Galian couldn't help thrashing when two articulated, metal encrusted legs, shot out of the archway like the pincers of a crab. Long, venom dripping points at the end drove down, intent on skewering their intended victim. There was a streak of silver and flowing chocolate as Yuffie launched herself from the base of the wall where she had been thrown. The ninja hit Ice, braced her feet and somehow powered the both of them out from under those lethal spears. She twisted slightly as one point grazed her hip, opening a long deep slash.

There was a bubbling, screeching hiss, followed by a nasty, scraping, chittering sound as the creature oozed its oily way out of its ambush hole. Galian's attention was drawn back to his current predicament as a blast of carrion smelling breath hit his face.

Sergeant pulled back a little when he realized he had his victim's attention.

"Ice and Whisper are with you because they want to be… aren't they?"

Galian snarled a little and rumbled,

"We are a pack…and Ice… she is my/our MATE!"

"SHIT!"

Powerful jaws snapped shut as Sergeant seemed to come to a decision. The Galian was amazed when the great beast released his arms and shifted his crushing weight off. There was a flash of brown starting to glimmer again with yellow.

"Just between you and me... Project V," Galian almost missed the rest as the mighty beast who had once been a man rolled into a full fledged charge. "I HATE the damned creepy crawlies too!"

* * *

Yuffie lay in a heap, her limbs and tail intertwined haphazardly with Ices. She knew they were in terrible danger, but right at the moment the young woman was in so much pain, she just couldn't bring herself to care. The ninja had thought that the agony of bones breaking when she had been thrown into the wall was bad, but the piercing glass-shard like pain as her bones pulled themselves together, and then healed afterwards, had been overwhelming. It had taken every bit of stubborn strength she possessed, to rocket forwards and pull Ice out from under those descending living lances.

Even so, as soon as they were clear, Yuffie dropped the Were and tried to curl up into a shaking, whimpering ball. When it had attacked, the ragged fangs of the beast that was Sergeant, had pierced through hide and muscle, crushed ribs, and she was pretty sure, penetrated to some vital organs underneath. THAT gruesome injury was not healing. The envenomed slash on her hip was closing up, but her healing factor did not recognize the mutated Were's saliva as foreign, so it stayed dormant in regards to the bite wounds. She felt when the cinnamon female detangled herself from her self created "Yuffie" ball. And the girl almost screamed when the Were quickly probed her injuries with strong, careful fingers. She did cry out and then gagged on the blood this brought up into her mouth as Ice ruthlessly straightened her out. The girl retched again when a strip of cloth was forced passed her lips.

Ice held Yuffie's mouth closed and snarled at the ninja's "you have got to be fucking kidding me" look. The female's slender ears were twitching and rotating as she tried to track what was happening around them and concentrate on Yuffie at the same time. She used both hands to hold the ninja's muzzle closed and the girl finally started rolling the cloth around with her tongue just so she could get it out of her mouth. The Changed woman was mortified when her salivary glands seemed to go into overdrive and bloody drool started stringing from her closed mouth.

Ice released her grip and ran both hands down Yuffie's lips, gathering as much of the viscous fluid as she could. Before too much could drip from between her long fingers, the female pinned the girl with her feet and tail, and used both hands to work the goop deep into the open wounds. Yuffie managed to choke out…"GROSSNESS"….as the female plucked the now sodden rag from her mouth and the girl wished she had kept her mouth shut when the Were stuffed another one in. Honey gold eyes widened as the fire that was consuming her back and ribs eased with Ice's rough first aid. Yuffie worked the rag around in her flooded mouth, trying to soak it as fast as possible. The girl shuddered at the pain, she could actually FEEL the female's slender fingers working the saliva soaked rag DEEP into her insides. But….as soon as the rag was withdrawn, she could also feel those terrible wounds start to close. The Changeling felt Ice look up from her task and heard the guttural snarl as the female ducked, covering Yuffie's body with her own. Whisper's bleeding form came sailing past to thump into the wall. The male dragged himself up, glanced over Ice's handiwork, gave a sharp, approving nod and then launched himself back into the fray. Ice continued to work frantically, slathering Yuffie's saliva into every bit of the now closing bite wounds.

Finally Yuffie reached back and grabbed her hands,

"Ice…. I get the idea…..go help the others, I can do this myself now."

The ninja had totally sympathy for the Were as she watched pure unadulterated panic run across that lovely face. But, the Changeling was ruthless…phobia or not, the others needed all of the help they could get. She pushed the golden female away…

"Come on…they are counting on us…!"

* * *

Reno hadn't caught all of the short conversation that had gone on between the two mighty Were beasts. His own groan as he levered his aching body out of the rubble just about drowned it out. Then he saw Yuffie and Ice go flying by and the bulk of the great bear like monster moved slightly clearing his field of vision. The THING that squeezed itself out of the archway had the redhead's heart trying to wiggle its way out through the soles of his feet. Hells Bells…what perverted mating of nature and science had created THAT? A huge disk shaped, pale tan body balanced itself on eight jointed, highly arched legs. Each of these ended in two lethal looking claw like hooks. The creature also had two hooked legs that faced to the front, these ended in long, very sharp, venom dripping points. They were the ones it used as spears when it ambushed its prey and then they were used to draw the victim where shorter, sharp tipped appendages could stuff the morsel into the monster's mouth. Reno had NO problem imagining how anything skewered by those crawling, twitching, articulated arms would get drawn up into the mutant's chittering maw. The strange, spine crawling chittering was created by four mandibles that clattered and scraped together in a ratcheting motion. Those armor plated, jagged mouth parts would saw through the toughest flesh and bone in seconds.

The thing had finally succeeded in pulling its bulk clear of the archway and it tilted the front of its body down, seemingly studying the group with three huge, glowing, mako green, center eyes that were surrounded by four smaller ones. The razor sharp mandibles flared wide as the thing hissed its displeasure at having its meal snatched.

OH SHIT! The red head suddenly realized that its spears were not only used to pull prey into the mouth but ALSO as hooks to hold squirming flesh in place to be stung to death. Two whip-like, articulated tails, ending in dripping stingers arched over the thing's back to hover and weave as it readied itself to attack. Another glance towards the spidorpian, (yeah… that was as good a name as any, for it) confirmed that not only did the mutant have its own natural armor, but the thing had somehow managed to attach chunks and plates of metal over most of its nasty, formidable bulk. Looking at it, the Turk could understand where Ice might have acquired her bug phobia. HELL…he just might join her in it after this! That was most definitely the creepiest, creepy crawly HE had ever seen.

Reno's attention was jerked back towards the two combatants who HAD been engaged in a life or death struggle just moments ago. The Turk could not believe his eyes when Sergeant backed off of the Galian beast and proceeded to charge the giant arachnid. The redhead staggered over and offered a hand to the prone beast, and to his amazement Vincent's demon accepted the help as he struggled to his feet with a groan that was an eerie echo of Reno's earlier one. Blood dripped down the Galian beast's side and thigh, and where he had been ruthlessly pinned, there was a pool of blood that had evidently come from the wounds that had been scored on Valentine's back. The Turk shook his head slightly, that didn't bode well in relation to the gunslinger's health. Without thinking, Reno tapped into his materia and cast a low level Cure, while he still had contact with the beast.. A shudder ran over the demon's body and his shaggy fur fluffed out. CRAP….he had forgotten about the weird reaction that Weres had to the healing magic. They had never needed to use Cure on Vincent before due to his rapid healing abilities, and the Turk realized belatedly that the Were part of the possessed gunslinger might reject any Cure cast.

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief when the Galian shrugged experimentally and growled,

"Better….Chaos says that you might be useful to keep around… after all."

His outraged, confusion most have been very evident because yellow eyes flashed his way and the beast grinned a nasty, tooth showing smile as his eyes turned back to the ongoing battle,

"You might need your gun for this one….. PET."

The demon sent a fire ball surging towards the mutated thing's unblinking eyes as it drove a stinger down at Sergeant. This splattered across the thick armor and didn't seem to hurt the monster, but it did distract it enough that the twisting tail missed its strike. Sergeant's powerful, claws skittered across plate mail, with a nerve grating screech, and dug into a joint. The giant bug gave a whistling, scream and spun, tossing the bear-like beast like he was a cub. The Galian shook himself sending blood and fur flying and then loped forwards to join the battle. Reno stuck the silver dagger into his belt, drew his gun and followed the beast just to make sure it heard his shouted,

"YO….if there is anyone here who LOOKS like a dog…it sure as hell ain't ME!"

* * *

Whisper had been as stunned as anyone with Sergeant's change of heart. When his former Alpha released this new manifestation of Vincent (and this one smelt almost one hundred percent… Were…wasn't that interesting!) and turned to do battle with the new foe that had quite literally crawled out of the woodwork, the White was instantly at his side. The big male was grinning a gape mouthed, savage smile of joy at the chance to fight at his former leader's side again. Sergeant came in hard and fast, trying to break through the monster's outer defenses to reach its softer more vulnerable underside. He barely avoided the stinging tail's strike only because Vincent's beast somehow sent a blast of fire into its multiple eye's. Even so, the great bear was sent rolling across the floor by a powerful sideways swipe of one articulated leg. The dual claws must have connected because there was a new streaming gash on Sergeant's side as he struggled to rise. The mutant bowed forward trying to reach the old Alpha with its ratcheting mandibles.

Whisper surged forward, got a grip with his deadly claws in between a couple of leg sections and used his momentum plus the creature's own strength to vault up onto its metal incrusted back. With a whistling hiss, the creature lost interest in the larger beast as the Albino dug sharp talons under a plate and used the awesome strength of his whole body to pry it up. The armor gave with a ripping sound, exposing the sickly, pink softness underneath. Whisper managed two deep rending strikes, then the thing straightened all of its legs like pistons and crushed the Were between its hard body and the unforgiving ceiling. Stunned, the White slithered off of its carapace and was caught by a swinging leg and batted over Ice, to slam into the wall. Seven glowing eyes turned towards the male's limp form as he lay for a second giving his healing factor a chance to draw broken bones together, but the sharp crack of Reno's gun and the whine of a ricocheting bullet drew its attention away from him and the vulnerable females. As Whisper dragged himself to his feet, he could see that Ice was teaching Yuffie how to deal with wounds caused by another Were. He gave his sister a swift nod of approval and scrambled to rejoin his battling comrades. Ducking down, the White tried to shoot under the thing's line of sight in order to get to its undercarriage but was intercepted as a stinger slammed down. It missed skewering him only because Vincent's beast rammed into his side with a muscled shoulder. The sharp tip traced a line of fire down his rib cage before driving into the floor.

HOLY SHIT! The venom from the thing made the muscles along that slash jump and twist as liquid flame coursed through the wound. Luckily, his immune system neutralized it almost immediately as his healing factor closed the slash. It still left a deep ache that would take a while to disappear completely. Before the thing could bow down and bring its biting parts into play, there was a flurry of cinnamon mane as Ice drove a dagger into what would pass as a knee joint. The thing turned with a bubbling screech, its instinctual jerk reaction tossing the female back as if she weighted nothing. One of its sting tipped tails was hovering over the Were, as if searching out the best place to nail her when silver lightening twirled through the air and one of those great glowing eyes blanked out. Yuffie's throwing blade had found its mark.

Whisper managed to rolled one way and saw Vincent's Other do the same. The shaggy, odd colored beast was in between Ice and the again bowing mutant before Whisper had even regained his feet. The savage rumbling growl that echoed from its broad chest made it very clear that he was not happy about the Were female possibly getting harmed. Both of the mutant's nasty spear like front legs lined up to drive down on the male. The beast managed to sidestep one, but the other shot down, piercing through his back and into the floor beneath him. Pinned as the male was, there was no way that the demon could avoid the stinging tails. One needled into him and as the other followed, Sergeant made his presence known. The beast that was once a man reared up to tower over the writhing demon and the second sting caught him full in the chest. He didn't hesitate as he hooked both sets of curving talons into the joint attaching the stinger to the tail and ripped it off. Then as the spear was jerked out of the Galian beast and driven into his own powerful body, Sergeant locked his powerful arms around it preventing the mutant from drawing it out. The creature could not lift over a ton and was itself pinned in such a way that it could now only pivot around the anchor that Sergeant had become.

Whisper darted in with the intention of dragging Vincent's demon to safety. The almost Were was evidently having problems dealing with the poison as he was still thrashing weakly but not able to rise. More gunfire erupted and the mutant spider lost another eye. Reno was still in the fight.

Just as the Albino reached the fallen demon, its injured body dissolved into a red and black mist….Whisper found himself covering Vincent's bleeding body with his own as Sergeant made a Herculean effort and dragged the monster until they were positioned right under it. There was a buzzing crackle as Reno connected with his E.M.R and the arachnid shrieked, mandibles flaring wide as a convulsion rocked it. Whisper felt Vincent shift under him and wisely jerked to the side as the gunman drew his weapon. He was still close enough to the massive gun's smoking muzzle to be deafened as Cerberus made its opinion of the whole affair known. The gunman unloaded three rounds into the thing's open maw. And when it snapped shut, he turned his aim to the soft vulnerable spot where the arachnid's plates came together. His heavy caliber bullets punched through the flattened body only to connect with the armor on its back. This was the things downfall, as each bullet turned and ricocheted back through, doing terrible damage as they shattered and tumbled.

As the monster above them started to twist and jitter in its death throes, Whisper grabbed his Alpha and desperately made a dash to get out from underneath before the creature collapsed. They had almost made it to Sergeant, when the arachnid's massive bulk settled down over them. The beast who was a man… pivoted around the leg that penetrated and trapped him, and placed his bulk between them and the dying creature's slashing mandibles. They were all crushed together under its armored bulk as the mutant settled into death.

* * *

Vincent had felt the terrible crushing pain of Sergeant's first strike and then thankfully, nothing else. When he was cruelly jerked out of a comforting oblivion it was to a body that was bleeding, weak, and engulfed in pain. And… to a large White Were who was tugging and pulling on him in such a way that it made his body's agony twice again as bad. The gunman had a good, if not blurry view as the segmented underside of the struggling arachnid was drawn over them, and he reacted more from instinct then anything else. He managed to place eight lethal shots into the thing, and was grateful when Whisper grabbed him and bolted for safety. The gunman knew he did not have the strength to get himself out from under an avalanche of giant, mutated... bug. They didn't quite make it. Valentine blacked out again as a massive weight settled down, adding the pain of being crushed to the already unbearable.

The sound of his two top demons arguing was what woke him again.

"WHAT PART OF…..DON'T CAUSE ANYMORE DAMAGE TO THE HOST'S BODY….DIDN'T YOU GET! THIS… GODS BE DAMNED… VIRUS IS HARD ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH WITHOUT YOU PUTTING A GREAT FLIPPING HOLE ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIM….. AND…. I'AM NOT EVEN GOING TO ….MENTION…THE VENOM YOU ADDED TO THE MIX!"

Chaos sounded not only angry but very tired. The gunslinger hazily thought that probably didn't bode well for his sake.

The Galian was on the defensive.

"**What did you expect me to do…let the thing skewer Ice and possible kill her AND our puppies! I don't think so…!" **

Vincent managed an internal clearing of his throat to get the bickering pair's attention. He could see nothing, and the great weight pressing down over him was making it impossible to breathe.

"Would one of you mind telling me what the HELL is happening?"

Before either demon could answer there was a deep groan from somewhere above him and the terrible weight eased some. Another rumbling moan and the pressure lifted up as Sergeant somehow managed to lift the great mass above him off of Vincent, and also, the ex-Turk realized, Whisper. Strong hands caught at him and he was unceremoniously hauled out from under the pile of white fur that was the Albino Were. He had evidently been sandwiched between the great bulk of Sergeant and Vincent's slender form.

Chaos could not resist a stab at him.

"IT JUST FIGURES THAT IT WOULD BE…YOU…THE LIGHT WEIGHT IN THIS GROUP….THAT GETS CAUGHT ON THE BOTTOM."

Valentine blinked to clear his vision and watched as Yuffie and Reno managed to drag Whisper's limp form out also. When they had the male clear, they turned back to help Sergeant, but the great beast just shook his head as his strength gave out and he settled back to the ground, the massive weight of the arachnid slowly crushing him. Partially glazed yellow/brown eye's sought out and then locked onto Vincent's crimson ones and the beast snorted softly.

"So…how fitting is this, that the son will correct the mistakes of the father?"

At Valentine's obvious confusion, those eyes flicked to take in Ice as she helped her brother to his feet, and then his gaze slid over to study Yuffie's chocolate striped form. Those eyes narrowed as the three Were's and (surprise) a hated Turk came over and tried to lift the weight off of the pinned beast. Sergeant gently nosed Ice away and met Vincent's gaze steadily.

"You need to finish this kill."

Both Yuffie and Reno backed off as Vincent levered himself into a sitting position and drew Sergeant's pistol from his cloak. Ice saw the gun and with ears flattened and mane sucked in as tight as it would go, she threw herself over her old Alpha's head. Whisper placed himself between his old and his new leader, the stress of the situation causing his lips to peel back exposing his fangs.

Vincent heard Sergeant softly rumble,

"Ice…. I am tired, I…hurt….please let me go while there is still some of ME left….. Please… This time…. euthanasia will be a blessing…"

Ice gave a gurgling hum and rocked Sergeant's big head for a moment then she backed away giving his blunt muzzle a final stroke. Valentine brought the pistol to bear on target and was stopped when Whisper stepped forward, his large blunt fingered hands closing over the weapon.

The big Male blinked sadly at the gunman and his voice was so soft it was almost a whisper.

"No….this should be done by family…or at the least…. by someone who loves him."

The Albino took the gun and moved back behind his old Alpha's head. As those intelligent eyes rolled to follow him, Ice popped her fangs together drawing Sergeant's attention back to her and her hands flowed through a slow dance. Whisper inflated his throat sack and boomed softly, Valentine realized that the male had done this to cover the sound of the sidearm being cocked.

The golden female's fingers spoke slowly, and simply.

"_You have NOT failed…you taught us loyalty. You taught us the meaning of courage."_

Ice faltered here and her eye's shifted from silvery blue to slate. Vincent watched and his heart ached at the evidence that the Weres had the very human capability to shed tears. Again the female's graceful hands flowed.

"_You taught us what it is like to be loved.…that is NOT my definition of failure... Good night…father of my heart."_

Her hands settled slowly as she finished what she was saying. The pistol spoke sharply from behind only once, and that massive head was jerked down by the force of the heavy caliber, silver bullet's penetration. The beast who was once a man died quietly, eased into his final sleep by the hand of the strong, white beast that he had thought of as a son.

* * *

Thank you too those who have reviewed both this time and before.


	16. Chapter 16

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters. Other than this...enjoy!

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 16

Whisper walked to where Vincent was bracing himself up. The Were stopped and glanced back once to take in the sight of his sister who was crouched by Sergeant's still form. The female was rocking slightly, hands slowly stroking down the ragged muzzle as if the great beast was only sleeping. The White then continued until he was beside the ex-Turk. Valentine was surprised when the Were turned, pressed as close to the gunman's side as he could and then sat back on his rump, toes folded. The gunman felt that long prehensile tail creep around to wind along his hips. Whisper blinked slowly, his crimson eyes were dull and the big male looked almost shell shocked. The Albino was still holding that lethal little hand gun and when Vincent very slowly and carefully tried to take it from him, the ex-Turk found that those blunt fingers were locked tight around the pistol's grip, one finger still resting in the trigger guard. Vincent just did not have the strength to pry it loose. His vision kept fading and worse, he could hear his heart beat laboring as it hammered away.

Chaos had been preoccupied with trying to keep Vincent unaware of how seriously he was injured, keep his pain level to at least unbearable and working to block the arachnid's venom along with the Were's virus. It only took a moment for the Demon Lord to assess the situation. An accidental shooting could kill you as dead as an intentional one, and the demon knew he could not handle anymore damage to his host's failing body.

"BE CAREFUL…..VALENTINE! AS YUFFIE WOULD SAY…I DON'T THINK WHISPER IS AT HOME RIGHT NOW."

Both the gunman and his "guest" winced as there was a rustle and Reno knelt down in front of them, blocking Whisper's view of Sergeant's still body. The man's pale hands slipped into Whisper's creamy mane. His strong, long fingers worked at the tense shoulder muscles, trying to find certain pressure points. Vincent felt the body that was pressed so tightly up against his twitch, and at the Galian's urging, he slid his good arm around the broad back giving the beast as much tactile contact as he could. It wasn't a lot. Without the arm to support his weight, his back had to do the job and THAT was pure torture, even with Chaos trying to dampen the fire that raced across it. Black spots danced across his vision but he didn't let go. He felt a shudder pass through the Albino and Reno nodded as the grip on the gun loosened.

"Yo… big guy. Why don't ya let your good buddy Reno take this."

The Turk had both hands around that broad white one, his long index finger slipped behind the trigger so it could not be pulled.

"Here… why don't ya trade me what you have… for what I have."

Reno kept his voice soft and steady. Vincent just knew his eyebrows were crawling right off of his forehead as the red head offered the Were his beloved E.M.R.

Whisper blinked, and something shifted in those red eyes. The White glanced down at the weapon that was engulfed in his fist and covered by Reno's hand and then he convulsively tried to drop it. The Turk deftly caught it one handed. As he passed it over to Vincent, he did not release his hold on the male's now limp hand.

He tugged lightly on it,

"Yo…why don't we go check and make sure there are no other nastyies lurking in that passageway, Hmmmmm?"

Vincent repressed a hiss as Whisper's long tail lightly brushed his back when it traded its death grip on him to twine around one of Reno's legs. He felt Chaos's slight sigh of released tension as the White calmly went with the Turk and Valentine re-pocketed the hand gun.

"GODS, I AM GETTING TO OLD FOR THIS SHIT!"

The Galian beast snickered softly,

**"What…. you become a prospective daddy and all of a sudden you can't HANDLE a little excitement…I mean… really….passing out at the slightest provocati**…."

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose and took a shaky, horribly painful breath…he could see this becoming a huge distraction so, he weakly came to his eldest demon's rescue…

"Galian…..Shut up!"

* * *

Yuffie slipped up beside the ever silent Ice….she understood grief…Gods…she had experienced her fair share of it in her short life. But…she had NEVER pulled the trigger on someone she loved and the girl instinctively knew that this stunned, silent apathy that the two Were's were exhibiting wasn't healthy grief. The ninja nudged the golden female slightly with her shoulder but Ice did not even look her way. When Yuffie lifted her hand hesitantly to try and pull the Were away from Sergeant's bulk, one side of Ice's velvety lips lifted, showing her elongated canines in a silent snarl.

Unsure of what to do, the young woman dropped back to check on Vincent. What she saw when she reached the downed gunman had her heart stuttering in fear. The man was bleeding from side, thigh, and from a nasty looking hole just above and to the left of the hip that Cerberus was holstered on. It looked bad but the ninja breathed a silent sigh of relief when she realized that that particular wound was slowly closing, albeit not nearly as fast as his wounds usually did. Her relief was cut off instantly when she tried to put an arm around Valentine's shoulders and his pained "Hnnn.." coupled with an odd flutter of his black lashed eyelids made it clear that the man was on the edge of passing out. She quickly unbuckled his cloak ( The fact that the ex-Turk didn't protest, frightened her more than anything else.) and leaned him forwards so he could cross his arms over his knees and rest his head on them. She did not have to remove the soft black shirt whose texture she had so enjoyed earlier, it had been shredded.

At her first sight of Valentine's ravaged back, Yuffie sucked in a sick breath…

"Holy SHIT….Vincent!"

Then it took her two tries to get,

"Oh Gods! RENO…get over here!" past her dry mouth and numb lips.

The ninja saw Ice's head snap around at the panic present in her voice and the female straightened away from Sergeant and strode over towards them. Reno had to physically move Yuffie's frozen body out of the way as he arrived in record time. The Turk didn't say a word as he took in the shredded muscle, splintered bone, and rent skin. Yuffie dragged her eye's away from the horrid sight just in time to catch the look of despair that crossed the red head's face.

"Isn't he supposed to heal almost instantly?"

Reno spoke quietly as he turned his attention to trying to get the rag of a shirt off without hurting the silent gunman. Whisper had come up, as silent as his namesake, and the Were reached around the red head, gleaming silver claws making short work of the torn material.

Vincent turned his head, shifting so that his cheek rested on his crossed arms rather than his forehead. Dark gold eyes opened and it was Chaos' rough burred voice that answered the Turk

"NORMALLY…YES…I WOULD MANIFEST AND HEAL THE HOST'S BODY AS HE RESTED. WITH THIS INJURY, I NEED TO STAY IN HERE. THAT GODS CURSED VIRUS IS INTERFERING WITH MY ABILITY TO REPAIR THIS QUICKLY. I MANAGED TO HOLD THINGS TOGETHER SO THAT THE GALIAN COULD FIGHT, BUT I AM HAVING REAL PROBLEMS GETTING VINCENT'S SPINE PERMANENTLY REPAIRED, AND I AM JUST BARELY PREVENTING HIM FROM BLEEDING OUT…"

Chaos' glimmering eyes dimmed for a moment as he snarled something in an ancient tongue….Yuffie had the distinct feeling that what he said, wasn't very nice. When the demon's attention returned he sounded…very tired.

"THE DAMAGE IN HERE IS PRETTY EXTENSIVE, AND TO COMPLICATE MATTERS, THAT…THING'S… VENOM IS A PARTICULARLY NASTY MIX…..MY HOST IS VERY…ILL…RIGHT AT THE MOMENT. IT IS TAKING EVERYTHING I HAVE JUST TO KEEP IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE HIS HEART, LUNGS AND BRAIN FUNCTIONING. I NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON JUST KEEPING VALENTINE… BREATHING…. BEFORE I CAN DEAL WITH THESE SURFACE INJURIES…."

Reno…ever the Turk glanced at Yuffie…

"I don't think he can travel like this."

Chaos snorted softly, then hissed as that slight movement caused immeasurable pain.

"I AM KEEPING THE HOST SUPPRESSED RIGHT NOW….IF HE WERE AWAKE….THE PAIN WOULD BE INTOLERABLE, EVEN FOR HIM."

Yuffie almost panicked as the demon's eyes closed wearily in Vincent's deathly pale face. Without thinking, she shook the man's still shoulder and Chaos' eyes popped open as he growled another nasty sounding curse at her in reaction to the pain. The young woman realized that the Demon Lord must be feeling everything that he was preventing his host from feeling. She turned to were she could meet Ice's concerned gaze.

"Ice…would your little spit trick work for Vincent?"

Chaos answered before the Were could.

"NO….ALL I NEED IN HERE IS A DAMNED INFECTION ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE!…ALTHOUGH…WHAT THE TURK DID FOR GALIAN WAS….HELPFUL."

Yuffie's heart sank as she saw Reno's red eyebrows, shoot up. The young woman realized that Chaos was not exaggerating about Vincent's dire condition. That was probably as close as this proud, ancient being was ever going to come, to admitting that he needed help.

Reno didn't hesitate he removed his materia from its slot on his E.M.R and shifted to were he could see the disconcerting gold gaze of the demon gleaming out of the gunslinger's white face.

"Yo…what I did for the beast was a low level cure. In order to use a level three….YOU would have to have EVERYTHING where it needed to be inside there before I cast it."

The gold dimmed for a second.

"THAT CAN BE DONE….BUT"

Here the demon pinned the Turk with a hard gaze.

"THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MY REMAINING ENERGY….IF YOU CANNOT GET THE HEALING CLOSE TO FINISHED….I WON'T BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN HIM…HE COULD VERY WELL DIE."

Reno felt his stomach sink, the healing magic wasn't his greatest strength.

Yuffie shifted hopefully, but Whisper placed a hand on her shoulder and Reno heard the White murmur softly.

"I am sorry Yuffie…you CANNOT use materia…it would be very harmful to your health."

At the young woman's stricken look the Turk hardened his resolve.

"YO….you just make sure and do your part….I can handle this end."

Those gold eyes studied him long enough that the Turk was starting to worry, after all, this was the one demon of Vincent's that you did NOT want to piss off. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when the demon's lips tightened and he looked away.

"I WILL KEEP HIM DOWN UNTIL YOU GET HIS BODY LAID OUT. AFTER THAT, I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP VALENTINE SUPPRESSED WHILE I DO THIS….YOU MUST NOT LET HIM THRASH AROUND….THAT WOULD CAUSE EVEN MORE DAMAGE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I AM READY."

Reno just nodded, and when the gold had bled out, leaving Valentine's blank eyes the color of dried blood, they carefully laid the gunslinger on his stomach. Whisper took a firm hold on the slim black clad legs, and Ice steadied the man's hips after carefully removing Cerberus from its holster. Yuffie braced herself to hold her lover's shoulders down.

* * *

Chaos waited until the Weres had his host firmly in hand. Then he withdrew all of the energy he was expending in order to keep Valentine under. The demon ruthlessly pulled his resources out of fighting the virus, the venom and just maintaining vital systems and turned it towards pulling all of the damaged organs, shredded nerves, severed blood vessels, shattered bone and sliced, writhing muscles back into the positions that they needed to be healed into. He felt his Host buck once against the excruciating pain this caused, then the Were's strength came into play, pinning the man down. The Ancient Being said a short prayer towards his own extinct Gods that Reno was truly up to this task, then... the demon concentrated every bit of his energy into just holding everything together as he spat out the order for Reno to GO!

* * *

Reno knew the instant that the Demon Lord started pulling everything together because the body of the prone man bucked under the trio's restraining hands and a soft "Hnnn" worked its way past Valentine's suddenly white lips as he tried to get away from the overwhelming pain. Reno could not help the others as they fought to hold the man down. He was tapping into his materia, holding and building the energy for the moment that Chaos told him to release it. This was taking ALL of his concentration, as this skill was not one that he had truly mastered and the power surged, trying to find a way OUT!

* * *

Vincent was hammered awake by the unbearable fire of ALL of the terrible damage in his body being inhumanely jerked, pushed, twisted and rearranged by unseen hands. It was worse than anything Hojo had ever done. He tried to twist away from the killing pain only to find that he was being restrained by three sets of hands and feet powerful enough to keep his bucking body still. Yuffie's tearful voice penetrated through the haze and the sound of his own screams.

"VINCENT!….PLEASE…be still. We are trying to help!."

The man clamped his teeth into his lips and with a supreme effort, he managed to coerce his body into a trembling semblance of stillness. Chaos rose for a brief flash and he heard the his eldest's rough, exhausted voice push past his own bleeding lips.

"NOW...RENO!"

The ex-Turk had a split second, where all of the Weres jerked away, freeing him…. And somehow, he managed to hold against the screaming agony for what seemed like an eternity….then… blessed relief surged through him as Reno cast a High Level Cure.

* * *

Reno almost did not hear the Dark Demon's command so immersed was he in the healing magic. What did register was that all three Were beasts were scrambling to get back before he released all of that power into Valentine. It was a relief to let it go. The energy coursed from him, through the orb he held and sank into the gunman's shuddering form. It seemed that Valentine's need was inexhaustible because his failing body absorbed all of the power Reno was pouring out and demanded more. The Turk gritted his teeth and tried to meet that demand. He had heard of people who had terminally drained themselves by trying to cheat that all powerful God…death, and he suddenly realized that he was courting that himself. Still…he thought…as a form of redemption for some of the things he had done…this would not be a bad way to go. He had the odd sensation of something ELSE in his head….and he felt Chaos's deep, gravelly voice more than he heard it.

"RENO…STOP!….IT IS ENOUGH."

Still the Turk couldn't seem to break the connection.

Powerful hands suddenly grabbed him and he heard Whisper's strangled scream as he was jerked away from Vincent, effectively breaking the energy's lethal conduit. The white male let go of him and curled into a convulsing ball. Reno dropped the smoking materia and crawled over as the Were stilled, hands pulled up to his chest, tail twitching. Whisper's red eyes were blank, his white mane stood straight out and his lips were pulled back in a rigid, pained, tooth showing grimace.

"Whisper?"

Reno was suddenly terrified that the male had killed himself trying to save him and he found that his heart just couldn't bear that thought.

"YO…Whisper…Please?!"

He couldn't hide the sob that threatened to tear it's way out of his suddenly aching throat as he gave the beast a hard shake and whispered.

"Come on…you need to WAKE up…you haven't asked Valentine if ya can screw me into the mattress yet."

Whisper twitched, and before his red eyes lit up all of the way he inflated his throat and boomed…

"VINCENT….I need permission to screw one red headed, second ranked, TURK into his mattress."

Reno dazedly looked up to see the gunman being helped to sit up by a madly grinning Yuffie. Ice actually broke out in a silent fit of laughter when the ex-Turk glanced at the sprawled pair of males, silently taking in the way their red and white manes swirled together like strawberries and cream and dryly breathed.

"Granted!"

* * *

Vincent watched Reno help Whisper to his feet, or it could have been the reverse. Both of the males seemed more than just a little shaky. Actually, after raking the small group with a professional eye, the gunman had to admit that none of them looked all that well. He shifted his weight and carefully took a deep breath. That breath hissed softly back out as pain flared along his back and through his ribcage… but… at least it was bearable and NOT the incapacitating agony he had experienced just moments ago. The gunman made an automatic query to the being responsible for keeping him in good health. Usually when he awoke from one of his transitions, Chaos would have his body close to totally healed. He knew that this time, that wasn't the case. He became a little concerned when all he received back was that weird humming emptiness instead of the sarcastic remark he expected from his eldest demon.

His concern grew, when he mentally poked at the ancient being and received NOTHING in return.

"Chaos…?"

"**Shhhh…." **

Vincent felt his eyebrows arch up at his subordinate demon's insistent hiss. The Galian kept his tone to a subdued rumble.

**"The only time I have seen the Old One scramble like that was when you were so badly damaged in the Omega incident." **

Well… that answered the question as to why the Galian beast was speaking in his dominant demon's stead. Chaos had been so wiped after Omega that the ex-Turk had not heard from the Demon Lord for weeks. At the time…HE had assumed that the ancient being had returned to the planet. Of course…everyone knows that you should NEVER assume anything. He felt a wry smile pull at the corners of his mouth and accepted Yuffie's strong help in pulling himself onto his feet. He was thankful for her sturdy support as a wave of pain and dizziness rolled through him.

The Galian gave a concerned sounding hum**. **

**"Chaos said that this is the best he can do for the time being and that you should be very thankful that the Turk is with us. You may feel a little out of sorts from that monster's venom….But…. as long as you don't take anymore damage…he has everything coasting on autopilot while he gets some rest, and you should heal. **

The beast's tone became slightly disapproving.

"**You really should be more careful, master of mine. One of these days, you are going to push him past his limits….Then where would we ALL be, Hmmm?"**

"Where indeed?"

The gunman ran careful fingers over the almost healed hole in his side that he was SURE hadn't been there when he traded places with the Galian.

"I will try to keep that in mind."

Valentine staggered as Yuffie, who had been grinning like a maniac, (A rather intimidating sight when you considered the size of those impressive canines.) suddenly sobbed and reared up to throw her arms around him.

"OH GODS… V-v-vinnie….What the HELL was that? Don't you ever do that again…your S-S-SUPPOSED to be IMMORTAL…W-w-what am I supposed to d-d-do if you d-d-d….?"

The words were muffled as the ninja had her long face pressed into his chest, and he could feel her tears running hot against his skin. Ignoring his own stiffness and discomfort, Vincent wrapped both arms around the young woman's silky, mane covered, shoulders. He could feel her shaking against him, and without thinking he dropped his good hand to make slow circles on her back, trying to ease the sobs that wracked through her.

"I am fine… Yuffie…Chaos is good at what he does."

The gunslinger's sensitive fingers paused and traced several long healing wounds that were spaced across her ribcage…it seemed that the ninja had also acquired some serious injuries.

Yuffie pulled back when she felt him part her mane to watch one deep wound as it was slowly knitting itself together. She sniffed and gave him a watery smile.

"I'm okay….Ice showed me a… GROSS… but neat way to deal with Were bites."

Vincent looked hard into her honey eyes and the girl swallowed her tears, giggled and swiped her tongue across his chin. OKAY….he really needed a briefing on just what exactly had happened after he had been injured…he remembered very little and what he could dredge up was very blurred. Ice had stepped closer to peer at the wound that Vincent had exposed and she nodded her satisfaction at how it looked. The female gave him a smile, no more than a twitch of the corners of her mouth and handed him Cerberus. Then, she turned from watching them, to glance at Sergeant's still bulk. One look at the female's sad, drawn features, and the furtive glances that Whisper kept making at Sergeant's quiescent form and Valentine made the snap decision that the briefing could wait. They needed to get out of this general vicinity first.

* * *

Ice moved carefully through the last level before they reached the surface. They had been traveling now for a total of sixteen hours with little rest and she was feeling the strain. The group had taken a small break after moving past that gods cursed passage, for quick first aid on the human's part, (even with the healing, they had to bind Vincent's back so that the closing wounds there wouldn't break open as he moved. The man could not afford to loose any more blood.) AND a thorough tongue washing and blood removal from the Weres. (Yes… this was done with many comments of GROSSNESS on Yuffie's part and a slightly startled look from their Alpha as both Weres pinned him down and licked him clean. To give the man credit…he permitted it.) The ritual of grooming had also given Ice a chance to regain her composure. With the high emotion of the battle, Sergeant's death, the almost loss of her brother AND her new chosen Alpha, the Were female's damaged mind had finally had a small break down and the group could NOT convince her that the dark tunnel wasn't just FULL of lurking creepy crawlies. It had taken both Reno and Whisper pulling, cajoling, even threatening…PLUS… a bite on the ass from Yuffie to finally force her to go through that web incrusted opening. Soft velveteen lips wrinkled back in a small smile….her BUTT was still smarting.

The golden female spared a glance back and slowed her pace even more. They had shifted Valentine into the middle of the traveling order along with Reno. Although the Alpha male insisted that he was all right, all could see that he was not moving with his usual easy grace, and there were fine lines of pain etched around his pale lips and ruby eyes. More telling was the fact that the gunfighter had made little protest when Whisper had supplanted him as rear guard. Reno traveled slightly to the front on the gunman's left and Yuffie was traveling very closely on his right. Crimson eyes glimmered as Vincent caught Ice's appraisal of him. He quirked the corner of his mouth and gave a slight nod in her direction. Not taking his word for anything (Alpha males were notorious for hiding any weakness) Ice dropped back a little, testing the damp air that swirled around him. There was no smell of fresh blood, so she moved back to her position, and started looking for the best path to get up through this last tangle of girders.

* * *

Steel could not believe the gift that the Gods were delivering to him. Not only had they finally managed to catch their recalculate sibling while the brotherhood was at full strength, but SOMEHOW she had acquired a FEMALE first generation Changeling.

The three brothers had been keeping a wary eye on the activity going on topside. When the storm had hit all of the aircraft had been grounded, even the great airship. Ground parties had continued the search but now that true night was falling, even these were pulling back. As the trio was preparing to slip back down into this remote section of Deepground, Shadow's sharp eyes had detected movement in the girders.

Steel moved silently above the trespassing group, his sharp green eyes assessing the little Troop's condition and his intelligent mind sorting out who amongst them needed to be dealt with first. Even as he watched, the tall male in the middle stopped, slipped a black gloved hand under his crimson cloak. The grey Alpha's sensitive ears picked up the almost silent buzzing of a cell phone set to vibrate. As his pale, cold gaze watched the group gather back around the human, lean silken lips peeled back in disgust. How could his sister and that abnormal white brother degrade themselves by accepting ANOTHER human as their Alpha? Well no matter….He signaled to the other two and then headed back up towards the ruins. He would wait until they attained the surface and thought themselves safe. Shadow was fully capable of dealing with the White and the two human males would have no chance against the might of Titan. He doubted that the little Changeling would be a threat and after he dealt with Ice, he would be sure the pretty striped female was bred. Ice was quick and could easily out distance him in the girders, even while she was in her less defensible form. He didn't know why she was traveling like that, but he did not want to give her any excuse to shift to beast form. As long as she was… Changed… he could out run her on the flat… AND when he caught the bitch… The male had to ruthlessly squelch the desire to Boom in premature triumph…he was going to finish this particular kill!

* * *

Ice breathed a silent sigh of relief as she pulled herself up to stand on the dark, rain washed ground of Midgar. The chances of running into her brother's Troop were slim to none up here and the female relaxed her guard as she turned to give Reno a hand up. All the warning that the golden Were had was the sudden widening of the Turk's eyes and her brother's deep savage boom of triumph as he slammed into her from the side. Steel's greater weight took her to the ground as two fiery knives buried themselves in her thigh. Such was the span of the great grey Alpha's narrow jaw that the other two dagger like canines sank to the hilt across the top of the base of her tail and slashed down, cutting through the muscle and the hyper sensitive nerves that ran through that area. At the same time, the big male twisted those heavy neck muscles, and the sharp sound of her femur breaking cracked out at the same time as the terrible pain forced a thin scream from Ice's damaged throat. The female rolled desperately, drawing her daggers more from instinct than anything else…her intelligence was being overwhelmed with shock and pain. Steel released her hip and twisted with lightening speed, one powerful set of talons driving into her right forearm while those iron jaws closed over her left wrist cracking through tendon and bone, forcing her to drop her weapons. Then, knowing that he had his sister crippled in such a way that she was helpless and could NOT run, the Alpha Male dug his rear talons in and pinned the bleeding body under him.

The beast dropped his awesome head down to hiss into the writhing female's twitching ear….

"This time I am going to rip your pretty red head clean off….let's see if you can miraculously recover from THAT!.."

Massive jaws gaped, the brother fully intent on repeating the punishing killing bite he had used on his sister so many years ago.

* * *

Whisper shot past the two slower human males, the instant that he heard Steel's angry boom. He leaped past Reno just in time to see Ice go down underneath his Alpha brother's heavier bulk. The White boomed, and dove towards his downed sister only to be intercepted by a silent, black Shadow. The second ranked male's long jaw closed over the back of the Albino's wide skull and as the heavier male rolled over his rogue brother's back, his momentum caused the White's neck to twist and crack.

* * *

Yuffie topped the edge a fraction of a second in front of Reno and Vincent. She caught a glance of Whisper being pulled over, his neck twisted into a lethal angle by a large Black Were. The sound of Ice's arm breaking jerked the silver and chocolate Changeling's head around and she reacted as the highly trained ninja that she was. Both hands blurred as she drew the silver laced throwing knives. One skimmed across Whisper's twisting shoulder and buried itself in the thick muscle at the angle of the Black's heavy jaw. The other flew unerringly towards the back of the Grey that straddled Ice. Vincent beat it there. He reached the beast as those lethal jaws were closing on Ice's neck. Slamming into the grey's broad back, he jammed his gauntlet between the closing jaws. The sound of teeth skittering and screeching across the heavy metal was drowned out by Steel's strangled scream as the ex-Turk jerked them both sideways and that spinning silver knife buried itself in the Were's sleek grey side. The male twisted, knocking the ex-Turk off of his feet as the grey convulsed at the silver's stinging bite. The Alpha launched himself away from the human male, skidded to a stop and reared onto his hind legs as powerful hands jerked the dagger out. Steel's pale eyes were two livid green flames and the male peeled his lips back to expose his massive fangs to their roots. The male stalked towards the man whom he considered an Alpha threat, with lethal intent written in every line of his heavy muscled frame. Vincent had rolled when he had been thrown clear of Ice and as he rose to his knees in a sniper's stance, Sergeant's lethal little handgun was centered on the grey's massive chest. Yuffie had shot forwards into a charge and she skidded to a stop as Vincent pulled the trigger. The gun barked out its challenge and for the first time in the years that Yuffie had known the man….he missed his mark. The ninja had a fleeting moment to remember Ice's warning about silver bullets not flying true, then a mighty black shadow rolled out of the darkness behind the smaller form of Steel….Titan had entered the fray.

* * *

Vincent felt a brief second of odd relief when Ice's thin strangled scream of pain and fear echoed down the shaft and brought Chaos to awareness in a heartbeat.

"WHAT….?"

Was all the Ancient Being had time for before Vincent topped the edge. At the sight of Ice thrashing under the punishing form of her brother, the Demon Lord poured strength through his Host, with the hissed admonishment of….

"DON'T DAMAGE YOURSELF…. VALENTINE!"

Such was the speed with which he moved, Vincent was able to block the beast's lethal bite with a mouthful of metal gauntlet and twist the creature into the path of Yuffie's knife before it reached them. The resulting convulsion threw the ex-Turk clean off of Ice's bloodied body. As he rolled up into a shooting stance, the monster was roaring at him in a classic dominance challenge. Wanting to bring this to a swift end, Ice did NOT look good at all, Vincent pulled the trigger and could only stare in stunned disbelief as the silver bullet tumbled over the Grey Were's shoulder, raising his mane in the wind of its passing.

"YOU….MISSED….."

Chaos dryly pointed out as the angry beast stalked towards them.

Vincent was doing some hasty Kentucky wind-age calculations in his head when the mighty Black bulk of Titan toward over Steel's smaller form.

"OH SHIT!"

"Ya think…!" Was all that the gunman had time for as those powerful sharp talon-ed hands dropped down onto Steel's shoulders. Before the Alpha could react, Titan dropped his heavy gaping jaws, closed them with crushing force over his brother's wide skull, and in a move reminiscent of what Shadow had tried with Whisper, his heavy thick neck twisted. Between the sheer power that rolled through the massive Black's muscles and the leverage created by his hold on his brother's shoulders, Steel's head was ripped off in much the same way he had planned on removing Ice's.

* * *

Shadow had thought he had his smaller white brother in a death hold before that wicked little silver blade hit him right behind the hinge of his jaw. Gagging and choking, the Black had no choice but to release his brother's neck. Whisper twisted, lethal jaws snapping while powerful hands and feet closed on the Black's fighting form and in the next moment Shadow realized that he had made a fatal miscalculation. His white brother had always held the bottom rung of the dominance ladder and he had NEVER tried to advance his rank. The Black found himself fighting for his very life and he suddenly realized that this hadn't been because the white was not CAPABLE of advancing. Whisper's ivory fangs tore a gaping slash down Shadows muzzle and the Black screamed as the burn of silver penetrated his insides as his brother dug his talons into his vulnerable stomach. In complete desperation, Shadow made a mammoth effort, rolled, and somehow was back on top where he could use his greater weight to pin the albino as he tried for a fatal bite. He was reaching for his brother's vulnerable throat when there was a flash of red and a buzzing, sparking rod cracked him on the nose. As the Were's head jerked up, he got a good look at a pair of slitted pale eyes bracketed by odd slashing red, then his body was twisting uncontrollably as fire rolled over it, the human male had cast Cure on him.

Groaning, Shadow managed to force his jittering body to its feet just as Whisper rolled back up into a threat posture placing his bloodied white bulk between Shadow and the human male who had been thrown heavily into a girder. A gurgling shriek jerked the black brother's eyes away from his challenger and he could only watch in horror as Titan made a successful bid for the Troop's Alpha position. Forgetting about his fight with the albino, Shadow turned and scrambled for the edge of the drop. Titan caught him just as he reached it, and the smaller Black felt his brother's massive jaw close around his spine just as the luckless Second also felt the dilapidated girders crumple under the unexpected weight. With a screech of distressed metal, the bottom dropped out from underneath his grasping hands and feet. As Shadow's broken body fell, it slammed into and ricocheted off of the steel girders, he took enough damage that his healing factor shut his systems down before the two falling brothers finally hit the bottom.

* * *

Vincent was the first to reach Ice. The female had rolled on to her side, and was trying to curl into a fetal position. Bright blood flowed from her throat, her shattered wrist and in frightening amounts from the nasty slashing bite wounds situated over her tail and deep into the muscling of her thigh. Reno slid in beside the gunman as he tried to straighten the bloodied female out. Ice's pale eyes flashed open, and Valentine just barely yanked the Turk back in time to avoid a nasty bite. The injured female thrashed as Whisper and Yuffie arrived and the White tried to pin her down. There was nothing reflected in those pale silvery eyes but, shock, pain, and fear. Yuffie took one look at the arterial blood flowing out of the deep, wounds and grabbed the gunslinger's good arm.

"Vincent….I need to be human."

Valentine slashed a startled look the ninja's way, but didn't question her. He just nodded and produced one of Ice's precious syringes from the deep pockets on the inside of his cloak. The girl injected herself as Whisper finally managed to get his sister pinned. The White growled at Reno, and the Turk jumped to dig strips of cloth out of the albino's carrying pouch. He hesitated though when he realized he would have to get his fingers near the Were's sharp teeth and dangerous saliva in order to get the strip into her mouth to soak. Valentine switched places with the red head and directed the man to see what he could do to slow the bleeding. Reno traced a quick finger up the silky furred, bloody leg until he found the pulse point close to the juncture of thigh and groin. He balled his hand into a fist and bore down over it as hard as he could. The Turk whispered a sickened apology as he felt the broken bone there shift and grind, and the female's body jerked against her brother's restraining hands, mouth opening in a silent scream. Vincent moved with inhuman speed and got a strip of cloth into her mouth before it snapped shut.

Yuffie hissed softly as the burn of Change ran over her and she still managed to tell the ex-Turk that"… he needed to get the Were's wrist and leg set before they could heal and DAMN IT… Ice needed to get her spit glands working if they were going to help…"

The gunman's pale lips twisted unhappily….he knew how painful having broken bones set without the benefit of anesthetic was.

Chaos hissed at the gunman.

" HURRY UP…. VALENTINE."

The Demon Lord was watching red blood flow and wondering how much the iron constitution of a Were could handle before they died of blood loss.

Vincent reached for Ice's broken, bleeding arm just to jerk back as sharp fangs skittered across his gauntlet, as again, the female tried to bite.

"SHIT….!"

Chaos surged forwards and before his Host could interfere he grabbed control of their shared body. The demon straddled the female and caught her lovely face between both hands. He dropped his face until his golden eyes were starring into her pale, slivery blue ones from just inches away.

"MATE OF MINE…..YOU NEED TO BE STILL!"

Yuffie was dragging herself to her feet and she could not believe that the Demon Lord's rough voice could be that gentle. Ice's tense body relaxed slightly at the familiar voice and her glazed eyes blinked and cleared a little.

"THAT IS GOOD… MONKEY CHILD, "

Vincent's good hand slid off of the soft cheek to cup her chin.

"NOW… CHEW… LIKE A GOOD GIRL."

Yuffie slid in next to Vincent as he shifted off of the female. Ice blinked again and triggered her healing responses. Drool started to slip out of her mouth. Crimson eyes slashed the ninja's way and Vincent tapped Ice's chin…

"Open."

The female obediently opened her mouth. Yuffie picked out the soaked cloth and stuck a dry one in. Vincent caught the broken arm between both hands and before the female could even flinch he pulled and twisted, listening for the muffled click that told him the ends of the bones were together. Ice bit down hard on her rag and gave him a very nasty look. As soon as he moved his hands, Yuffie was using her long, narrow fingers to work that dripping rag into the deep wounds. A quick look of pain followed by relief crossed Ice's drawn face but was replaced by one of pure panic when Vincent ran his hands down her leg. The gunman glanced up once in warning and saw Whisper brace himself. Then the ex-Turk tightened his fingers, both flesh and claw around her ankle and pulled. The powerful muscles of the female's leg put up a terrible resistance as Ice bucked and twisted against the pain.

Her pale eyes rolled back and the gunman heard Whisper rumble…

"No Ice….stay with us….don't shut down yet."

Reno swore softly and released his pressure, in order to put the heels of his hands against the break and push the heavy bones while Valentine maintained traction. They were rewarded with a soft click as the broken ends settled into place. Yuffie had the second rag out of Ice's panting mouth and was busy stuffing it into the bleeding gashes before they even let go.

The ninja carefully wiped each of the golden female's gaping wounds with her saliva soaked rags, changing them as often as Ice could get them soaked. The only time that the female complained was when Whisper helped her to roll and Yuffie had to work the rags into the deep wounds slashed over the thick base of her tail. By the time the ninja was done there, the female Were was shaking, and a soft keening sound worked its way past her damaged larynx. Yuffie saw Vincent's good hand sneak out to rub Ice's back in slow soothing circles and the eyes that flashed her way were a dark, unhappy gold. Yuffie hastily glanced away, unused to seeing anything but anger and hate in Chaos's hauntingly beautiful gaze.

Everybody but Valentine flinched when a ground shaking rumble split the night, Cid's airship appeared, moving slowly over the ruins. When Vincent had realized that they again had cell service, he had activated his GPS and Cid was using it to home in on their position. The closest the Captain could get to them and safely land was a few blocks away on one of the abandoned freeway systems that crisscrossed the area.

Ice was unable to stand, let alone walk, so after carefully draping his cloak over Yuffie's almost naked body, Vincent gently scooped the female up. The little group was so focused on getting the injured Were out of there, that not one of them noticed dark shadows slipping over the edge where the black brothers had fallen. As they approached the giant ship, Valentine could feel the Were's body shuddering and Ice tried to burrow in tighter against him. A quick glance showed that Whisper was hanging close to Reno's heels. His tail was wound tight around the Turk's wrist and his scarlet eyes reflected the airship's spot lights with a bloody glow, so wide were they with fear. The gunman stopped for a minute and waited for the pair to pull even. Then he carefully knelt to where the male could also hear him. He spoke just loudly enough that Ice's ear twitched as the words ghosted over the tip.

"I …promise….that neither of you shall come to harm because of this."

Whisper gave him a small tight lipped smile, and he felt the shudders that were running over the soft body he carried,ease up.

As Vincent lead his little Troop into the airship, he breathed a silent prayer that this time….his promise would hold true.


	17. Chapter 17

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 17

Vincent was not surprised when Cloud and Highwind met them just inside the airship's hatch. And, he had expected to see the large, dark form of Rude, after all…Reno was with them. BUT….what had Ice suddenly trying to claw her way out of his arms, and had Whisper backing towards the closing door, lips peeled back in a terrified snarl, was the sight of a stranger dressed in a white lab coat. To make matters worse, the woman…upon seeing the bloodied, panicked form of the injured Were in the gunman's arms, pulled a syringe out of her pocket and started forwards. Ice turned into a clawing, spitting, snapping hellcat, and Vincent hissed as the effort to hold her tore the healing wounds on his back open. Whisper reversed directions at the warm smell of blood, head down, mouth gaped as he moved to protect his sister and his Alpha. Reno swore and took a double wrap of the white's tail (still in a death hold around his wrist) and hauled back, trying to slow the Albino down.

Cid dropped his cigarette, SHIT! Cloud had given him a run down on Ice. The chocobo BUTT had said NOTHING about the bloody eyed, dagger fanged, ghost coated, monkey from HELL.. That was advancing on them. That THING looked frickin dangerous!

The Captain let loose!

"Holy fucking mother of Gia…Valentine….What kind of GODS be DAMNED monster's are ya bringing aboard my flipping ship!"

Cloud stepped forwards drawing his massive sword. Yuffie jumped, placing herself between him and Whisper. Valentine turned, putting his back (an action that just made his SKIN crawl) between the white coat and his struggling armful.

His deep voice cracked out,

"EVERYBODY….FREEZE!"

The gunman was thankful when Chaos backed him by overlaying the rumbling thunder of his own voice over the gunman's usually quiet tone…. It worked… Although the Doctor did take one more furtive step in their direction. Ice peeked over Valentine's shoulder, and he felt more than heard the vibrations of a tiny whimper force its way out of her throat.

Hot crimson eyes slashed a glimmering look at the white coat and the man hissed….

"Don't…you…touch…. her!"

The strange woman stopped, pocketed the hypodermic, lifted her hands, and slowly backed up.

A quick glance confirmed that Reno had Whisper stopped and was kneeling beside the Were, one arm thrown over the beast's broad shoulders. A hard glare at Cloud and the swordsman sheathed his weapon, one hand sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Cloud?…"

"Um….maybe you ought to get everyone settled in and then we need to talk."

Vincent had a sudden sinking feeling when the younger man would NOT look him in the eye.

"Whisper…." Vincent crooked a finger at the White…"Come get your sister….Yuffie can show you were you will be staying."

The Albino shot a quick glance at Reno, then lifted up to his full height so that Vincent could carefully deposit Ice into his strong arms. The female gave the ex-Turk a pathetic, betrayed look, then burrowed her face and arms into Whisper's creamy mane. The male looked at Yuffie, then followed, as the young woman turned to lead them to the crew quarters that Cid always had set aside for them.

The Captain lit another cigarette as they passed,

"I sure as shittin hope that damn thing is fucken house broken."

Whisper stopped, and Vincent held his breath as the big male shifted to where he was standing face to face with the sky Captain. No one missed out on the fact that Cid had to look UP to meet that angry crimson gaze.

"I will have you know…that I was House broken…as you put it… before I was six months old! Can you say the same?"

Cid snorted, and his cerulean blue eyes slid off of the blood red ones to give Reno, who was still leashed to the White by a long, strong tail, a hard stare. One blond eyebrow twitched up and the Captain's lips twisted in a smile around his smoke.

"Who the fuck said I was talkin bout you?"

Reno jerked upright with an outraged, "YO…." But did not get any farther as Whisper answered the smaller blonde's smile with a not so nice one of his own, showing all of his considerable hardware. Vincent took a quick stride forwards,

"Whisper….Highwind is Alpha on this ship….this is HIS territory!"

The Albino raked the smaller man with a critical once over and then gave Vincent a classic "you have got to be fucking kidding me" look. The ex-Turk had to squelch a smile as it was Cid's turn to jerk out of his customary slouch with an indignant…

"SHIT."

Whisper snorted softly, then turned to stalk after Yuffie.

Valentine followed as Cloud led the way into one of the larger conference rooms. Cid trailed along, and the White coat slipped quietly in before the door closed.

The Doctor saw the darkening of the fabric on Vincent's shirt and realizing that his back was bleeding, started towards him, only to be stopped by his darkly growled,

"Don't…you…touch…me!"

The woman's lips tightened, but again… she stepped back.

Highwind settled himself into a chair and shrugged when the gunman gave him a questioning look.

"HA…don't fucking look at me… I am just here for the damned entertainment factor."

The gunman folded his arms and waited patiently for the blonde swordsman to say what he had to say.

* * *

Cloud nervously cleared his throat, and again ran his hand through the tumble of spikes on his head. Valentine had ALWAYS been intimidating…but Strife had never really been afraid of him. Looking at the older, taller man across the table from him, and realizing that the demon ridden man was NOT going to be pleased, the ex-SOLDIER realized that maybe he should be…just a little afraid. Cloud nervously cleared his throat…HELL…this was ridiculous, after all he had beaten SEPHIROTH in physical combat more than once. Vincent just arched an eyebrow at the younger man.

"Well…..Dr. Destinie…she is the head of Rufus's research team… well… she thought that since Ice had such an aversion to being in a regular lab….."

The swordsman shut his eye's and the rest of his words came out in a tumbled rush.

"Well…thatweshouldupdateHojo'ssoldlabsintheShinramansion…and…"

Cloud didn't even see the man move, there was just a blur of black and Vincent was over the table. He buried fingers and claws into the swordsman's muscled shoulders, bodily picked him up off of his feet and slammed the smaller man back into the wall with enough force that Cloud's vision was filled with white spots. Vincent pulled him back and slammed him… again! GODS the man was STRONG. Cloud eyes cleared and his heart leaped up to hug his tonsils as he caught sight of his "friend's" gleaming red/gold eyes and the slightly elongated canine teeth exposed by an angry snarl. Vincent shook him as if he were a rag…and Cloud managed to get his hands around the man's wrists, trying to relieve that punishing grip. It was like trying to move stone! Vincent's deep voice reverberated with the thunder of a storm in Hell.

"THIS HAD BETTER NOT BE GOING WHERE I THINK IT IS…"

Again the gunman thumped the swordsman back into the wall, hard. Cloud swore he heard his ribs creak and pop under the pressure. Or maybe that was just the sound of his sword breaking. GODS… he hoped so!

* * *

"SHIT!"

Cid had been expecting SOME fireworks….BUT… he was woefully unaware of the weariness, pain, and stress that Valentine had been operating under. When the man snapped…the sheer violence of the reaction caught the sky Captain flatfooted. The gunman seemed to levitate across the table and Cloud was stunned, pinned and BLEEDING before Cid could suck in a breath. As he was shooting out of his chair, the blonde saw the young Vet start towards the struggling men…HOLY FUCK! He could just see a blood bath coming….

"DON"T…YOU…FUCKING… TOUCH… THEM!"

The young woman froze at the vehemence of the order.

The pilot managed to get an arm hooked around Vincent's gauntleted hand, joining Cloud in trying to pry it out of the swordsman's flesh.

"GODS…VINCE let go!….Cloud's a dumb ass but he was just trying to HELP….WE (oh HELL he couldn't BELIEVE he was going to shift some of the shittin blame off of Cloud.) thought Ice might deal with things better if she could stay in a HOME and not be a prisoner in some fucking sterile, test tube filled, chemical stinking lab full of GODS be DAMNED white coat wearing fricken SCIENTISTS."

This last word was almost screamed.

Vincent didn't let go…. as a matter of fact…OH SHITINAHANDBASKET they were soooo screwed…red and black mist started to swirl around the three men.

* * *

Chaos knew that his host was…let us say…sensitive about labs, scientists, and the horror house that the Shinra mansion had been. But even the Demon Lord was surprised at the gunman's violent reaction. Actually, what the boy and the sky rider were saying made perfect sense to him. He remembered the upper floors of that accursed building as being dilapidated, but grand in an old fashioned kind of way.

"VALENTINE…."

The ancient being did make an effort to bring Vincent back into some semblance of control, but when he couldn't break through the roiling mix of anger, pain, hate and fear, Chaos enlisted the Galian's help and together they pushed their host's consciousness down. The demon needed to take over, before the man did something he would truly regret.

* * *

Marion's mind was spinning, as she watched the man in black savagely pin Cloud. She had been shocked when she had gotten her first glimpse of Ice and that great White beast. And when…what had Valentine called it…ah yes…Whisper… had risen and walked and talked like a man …well…. Holy crap! These were NOT lab monkeys! She had been a little pissed when Vincent had refused to let her treat the female. And her feelings had been hurt when she was rudely rebuffed when she only wanted to give the man some medical aid. When Cid swore at her…she took it in stride, she knew she would be of no help until they could get the enraged gunman calmed down. The woman thought her blood would freeze with fear when the tall man's form dissolved in red and black and was replaced by the grey, black and scarlet of a winged demon from…OH MY GODS! That was the bat winged fucker from hell that Highwind had warned her about! OH SHIT!

* * *

Both men froze, and what little color was left in the pinned swordsman's face paled to dead white. Cid…bless his soul, did not release his death grip on the one heavily muscled grey arm….his throat worked….

"Ah FUCK….Vince….?"

I am so dead! Was the one thought running through Cloud's mind as Chaos rumbled absentmindedly at Cid.

"IT IS VINCENT… NOT VINCE….AND… VINCENT… IS IN TIME OUT AT THE MOMENT."

The swordsman could only stare in shock into those hot golden eyes as the demon carefully lowered him to the floor, and held him up until he could get his shaky legs under him.

"HMPH…"

The dark being flexed his powerful hands, gently removing the talons that were embedded painfully in Strife's shoulder and he gave said shoulder a little pat.

"I WILL BE SURE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH MY… HOST… ON HIS LITTLE ANGER MANAGEMENT PROBLEM, WHEN HE CALMS DOWN ENOUGH THAT HE CAN BE RELEASED."

Glimmering gold flicked Cid's way…the man looked as if he had swallowed his ever present smoke.

"I WILL ALSO MAKE HIM SEE THAT THIS…IDEA…WILL BE BETTER FOR ICE AND THE KITLINGS."

Okay…Cloud knew his mouth was hanging open…but he just didn't care. The demon stepped back and Cid had to steady the blonde as his legs wobbled. One talon-ed finger came up and the demon frowned as he closed Cloud's mouth with an audible click. Amusement flashed across the dusky face,

"YOU ARE RIGHT HIGHWIND…HE DOES LOOK LIKE A CHOCOBO'S BUTT!"

All three male's heads turned as the Doctor, upon seeing Cloud's bloody shoulder, started towards them. Strife could not control the unease that flashed through him, and as one, all three male's growled out..

"DON'T… TOUCH …HIM/ME!"

Anger replaced the fear that was on the young woman's face and she threw her hands into the air.

"FINE!"

The Vet stalked to the door. When she reached it, the petite little woman turned around, she stabbed a finger at the two men and one startled demon.

"It is my professional opinion that you people DON'T need a fucking Doctor!"

She met Chaos's gold gaze with a hard, angry glare of her own.

"What you need is a Gods be damned EXCORCIST!"

Three sets of wide eyes blinked as she slammed the door.

"Well…I'll be damned! The Doc's been hiding a set of balls under that fricken lab coat."

Cid had put a cigarette between his lips and was looking for his lighter. Blue eyes widened as a lick of flame appeared, centered over the demon's index finger. Well Hell…no one could say that Cidney Highwind didn't have balls the size of grapefruits…he casually lit his smoke on the offered flame.

* * *

Cloud slid into the nearest chair, feeling as if every bone in his back and ribcage were bruised. Chaos's attention flicked back to him and the ex-SOLDIER'S heart about stopped when a snarl lifted those dark lips. One long finger poked at his bleeding shoulder.

"BOY...YOU REALLY NEED TO GET THAT TAKEN CARE OF. I WOULD RATHER VINCENT NOT KNOW THAT HE INJURED YOU."

At the two men's raised eyebrows the demon sighed.

"LOOK…I JUST DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE GUILT AND RECRIMINATIONS…YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW INVENTIVE THAT MAN CAN GET WITH HIS IDEA'S OF …PENANCE." The demon flicked his wings out and snapped them back closed. "NOW IF YOU TWO WILL EXCUSE ME…I NEED TO GO CHECK ON MY MATE."

Chaos casually turned and strolled out of the door. This time it was Cid who shut Cloud's open mouth.

* * *

Ice curled up, as best she could with her aching body, on the bed where Whisper had deposited her. The White male had gone with Reno. Yuffie had explained that he would "bunk with the men." Then the girl had made a beeline for the bathroom with a softly moaned, "GODS…. I hate flying," and Ice's sensitive nose picked up on the fact that she probably wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. A soft whimper worked it's way out of the golden female's tight throat. She needed to shut down, rest and heal…BUT the overwhelming fear of actually SEEING a White Coat, of being in this strange place injured, and stuck in this vulnerable form kept her fighting that need.

This room was large and the Were had not heard the door lock, BUT she knew this little bit of freedom was a short interlude….Soon her freedom would be gone and she (Oh GODS…and her kits) would be back in a cage. After all, that is were…monsters…were kept. The female knew that the sky Captain's opinion of them was one that most humans shared. The Were tried to believe that Vincent would keep his promise. Silvery eyes flicked to the bathroom, she knew that the man's heart belonged to Yuffie He would do what ever needed to be done for the girl and humans had no problem telling untruths. With a supreme effort, Ice forced herself up on her forearms and wiggled around to where she could slide off of the bed. She could feel the deep vibrations of the giant aircraft's engines through the floor. It reminded her a little of the constant hum of HOME'S self contained power systems. It only took a few seconds for the distressed female to work herself under the bed. She curled up against the wall at the head of it, feeling slightly soothed by the dark, rumbling enclosed space. She was still fighting her shutdown reflex, but at least here…she FELT a little safer.

* * *

Rude did not say a word as he led Reno to the room that Cid had assigned the Turks. His observant eye's did not miss the tail still wrapped around his partner's wrist. Or the fact that every now and then, the usually callous red head would run that hand over the creamy, blood streaked, white mane, or absently pat the heavy muscled shoulder of the nervous beast as they walked. The big man held the door as Reno entered their small but well furnished quarters and gave the creature a slight nod as the male hesitated to follow, bloody eye's flicking up as it tried to see past his shades.

Reno…being Reno…stripped his jacket off and flopped onto one of the two beds in the room. Rude just arched an eyebrow at the black tank top.

"neh…gave my shirt to Valentine…that man is hell on clothes!"

Reno had his holster unbuckled, looped over a bedpost and was wiggling out of the tee before he finished explaining. Both of Rude's eyebrows flared up at the many multicolored bruises adorning the red head's pale torso.

Reno stretched and hissed as the movement pulled sore muscles

"Things got a little rough down there…"

"Hmph…well… I figured as much, being as how your…friend…is bleeding all over carpet."

Rude lifted his shades and studied the great white beast with concerned chocolate eyes. Whisper twitched, and rolled his head, exposing his throat as he gave the big man a nervous smile, just a slight lifting of thin velvet lips.

Reno jerked up, long fingers parting Whisper's mane to take a good look at the deep slashing punctures that Shadow's fangs had caused. Between those and the slashes and gouges all up the Whites sides and across his soft stomach, the Were looked a little like he had lost an argument with a meat grinder.

"Ah crap… Whisper…ya sure as hell ain't sleeping in my bed looking like that!"

Reno dragged himself out of the bed and gave a light tug on one of the Albino's long ears.

"Come on….get those spit glands working and I'll give ya a hand with the ones your tongue can't reach."

Rude just stared as the pair disappeared into the bathroom, then Reno's head popped back out…

"YO…I sure hope ya got some decent food and some smokes in this dump?"

Dark lips twitched up in a small smile…and the big man shook his head. By the time he heard the shower running, the Turk had several warmed up cartons of Wuttain take out set on the table, along with a package of cigarettes and a pair of soft pants draped over the chair. The bathroom door cracked open letting steam roll into the room air, and Reno slipped out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He slid into the pants and to Rude's surprise, went to the closet, rummaged around and brought out another pair that he took back into the bathroom. When he came back out, the red head seated himself at the table, lit a smoke and gave his partner a penetrating look.

"Okay pard…what gives? Why are we hitching a ride in this slow flying, sky cow?"

In as few a words as possible, the big man gave his partner a briefing on Rufus having agreed with Dr. Angelique and Cloud on the Shinra mansion refit. Reno helped himself to a carton of spicy noodles as he listened. Anyone who did not KNOW the hyper red head would have thought that he was not paying close attention, but Rude was well aware that the man's quick mind did not miss a lick. Licking a dribble of the spicy sauce off of his chop sticks, the Turk groaned.

"Ah…man…bet we MISSED that conversation…I wonder if spiky is still alive?"

Rude would not have been willing to lay any wager on how Valentine had reacted to the news. His attention strayed off of his partner as the bathroom door opened and the "Changed" form of Whisper stepped out. Taking in the male's exotic, almost human form…the Turk sighed, that explained a lot. Reno had a real weakness for physical beauty, it really didn't matter if it was male or female. AND… that weakness had gotten him into trouble more than once.

Reno's sharp eyes followed his look, and he made a come hither gesture to the Were with his chopsticks.

"Yo…Rude meet Whisper…he saved my ass a couple of times down there…"

he gave his partner a deadly serious look as the man rose gracefully to his feet. Even in this less bestial form, the male Were was intimidating.

The Turk nodded slightly in Rude's direction.

"Whisper, this is my partner Rude…if he tells you to do something…I don't want to hear that you refused."

The Were's blood red eyes blinked as he studied the dark man, then, he made that odd rolling motion with his head, chin lifting a little to expose his throat.

One of the Albino's long ears twitched and the metal tag at the tip gleamed as it caught the light. He lifted a powerful looking hand and Rude had to ruthlessly squelch the instinct that made him want to flinch as one strong finger stroked his hoop earring with a surprisingly delicate touch.

"You have two tags … they are much nicer than mine….," the crimson look turned a little wistful. "Do you think I can have some like these?"

Reno made on odd choking sound into his food carton as Rude's eyebrows did an "Oh My Gods!" dance. The laughter cut off when Whisper's red eyes dulled as his inner eyelids flicked closed and the big male swayed. Without hesitation, Rude wrapped a long arm around the slender waist (silently marveling at the velvety texture of damp, silky fur) to steady the other male. Reno straightened up, and pushed a carton in the Were's direction.

"Whoa…maybe you should eat something?"

Whisper shook his head slightly,

"Hmmm, not hungry. I really just need to shut down for a while."

The Were's expressive ears flattened, as his gaze steadied on Reno's face with a frightening intensity. The Turk….studied the white male for a quiet moment…his trained eye taking in the small signs of fear, weariness, pain, and stress that Whisper was trying to hide. Then he rose smoothly from his chair and slipped his arm over Rude's to bracket Whisper between them.

"Come on…big guy."

The two Turk's eased their companion over to Reno's bed, and the red head pushed the Were down into it.

"Go ahead and get some rest. You are safe here… Me and Rude,…we got your back."

* * *

Chaos moved quietly through the corridors. Even if he hadn't had Vincent's memories of where Yuffie's quarters were, the slight trail of blood that Whisper had left was enough to lead the way. The demon ran into few crew members, as it was getting late. Those that saw his dark form stalking through the hallways, hastily made themselves scarce. The dark being didn't knock when he reached the unlocked door. He did draw up short when that door opened up into an empty room. A quick glance verified that the trail DID lead through this door, and he could smell that Ice HAD been in here. A soft moan from the bathroom explained where the airsick Yuffie was, but of the Were female, there was no sign.

A soft growl rumbled out of the ancient being's chest as he strode into the room, wings fanning out slightly as he looked for any threat. Then…on seeing a slight movement under the edge of the bed, those expressive appendages folded with a rustling sigh as the demon knelt, lifted the edge of the bedspread and located the tail of his missing mate. Chaos had to tilt his head at a very awkward angle, but when he did he could see the curled up shadow that the tail was attached to.

"ICE…COME OUT FROM UNDER THERE!

Dominant male that he was, Chaos expected to be obeyed. He was disgruntled to say the least when the shadow moved and twin gleaming silver orbs opened to look at him, but all the female did was curl up into a tighter ball.

Galian stirred**…. "Uhmm…ever heard that saying about catching more flies with honey?"**

"HMPH….."

The eldest one did his best to soften the rumble of his voice.

"YOU NEED TO BE… ON… THE BED, ICE. NOT UNDER IT."

He could feel the Were try to pull her tail away when he settled his fingers over it. The slow healing wounds across its base prevented her from that goal and the glimmer of teeth joined the gleaming eyes as her lips lifted in a silent snarl.

The demon felt the Galian beast stir again and he ruthlessly stepped on him.

"OH NO…WE TRIED IT YOUR WAY…. MY TURN!"

The demon allowed his own golden eyes to flare as he lifted his lips in an answering growl and gave a light but firm tug on that tail.

"THAT… WASN'T…. A …REQUEST….MATE OF MINE!"

For a second, Chaos thought he was going to have to bodily pull the reluctant female out by her sore tail, but after an initial stiffening, those silver eyes blinked to slate and Ice stretched an arm out so that he could grip her hand. He did try to be careful, but still had to deal with waves of silent disapproval from the Galian, when the female hissed softly as her leg was jarred. When he plopped his armful of stiff, sulking Were on the bed, she refused to look at him. He was getting ready to growl at her again, when the subordinate demon in the back of his mind gave him a proverbial slap upside the head.

"**Chaos…Ice is NOT sulking She needs to shut down and is too afraid and insecure to do it. Open up your eye's and really look at her**!"

The ancient demon swallowed his growl, and half lidded golden eyes took in the sucked in mane, and flattened ears. He blinked, anger dissolving as he registered the fact that Ice had NOT cleaned off any of the drying, tacky blood that matted the velvet fur on her arm and injured leg. The Galian hummed unhappily in the back of his mind at the sick, frightened, tense air that swirled around their mate as she curled back into a ball on top of the covers.

Leaning forwards, Chaos tapped the quiet female on the nose. He was rewarded by the startled flash of pale eyes.

"YOU…. STAY RIGHT HERE."

Yuffie was dry heaving into the toilette when the bathroom door was yanked open….the look she gave the ancient demon was one that said…oh GREAT…kill me….please! As Chaos filled a basin with warm water he silently watched the sick girl. When she finished this round of retching she looked up to fearlessly meet his golden gaze. The ninja looked so pathetic kneeling there wrapped in Vincent's crimson cloak that the demon gave her a slight smile.

"DO THOSE M.E.R'S TASTE AS BAD COMING UP AS THEY DID GOING DOWN?"

Yuffie blinked, then her face twisted as she gave a snort of laughter.

"Ha…it figures that Vince's demons would have a better sense of humor than he does!"

With a groan she dropped her head to rest on her crossed arms.

Ice had not moved when Chaos returned. She did not resist when the demon carefully straightened her leg out and gently started working the stiff blood out of her fur with a wet cloth. By the time he had the worst of it cleaned off, the female was mostly uncurled and she was watching him with a tired but clear gaze. He sternly pointed at her, and went to dump the bloodied water out.

The sight of the girl curled up, half asleep at the base of the toilette jerked a soft rumble out of the winged male, and without warning he swooped down, scooping the girl up. She woke up with a strangled cry and thrashed.

"BE STILL, CHILD. AND IF YOU HAVE TO…URK…DO IT IN THE BASIN…PLEASE."

The ninja elbowed him in the ribs…hard.

"I am NOT a child!"

"HMPH…HOW OLD AM I… CHILD?"

The demon was gliding over to the bed. He had no problem hearing the young woman mutter…

"Older than dirt."

He didn't stop until he had pulled the blankets back and deposited her small form next to Ice…intimacy with Valentine made it possible for him to flip the cloak off of her before she hit the bed.

"UM HUM…AND HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU SEEN?"

The demon tucked the basin against the young woman's stomach and did not bother to hide his satisfied smile when Ice instinctively curled herself around the ninja's warm back. His smile faltered a little when the girl snarled bitterly,

"FINE…rub it in, compared to you….compared to Vincent…Yes… I'm a child!"

Chaos crouched beside the bed, tilting his head so he could catch Yuffie's chocolate gaze. His golden eyes narrowed at the tears he saw there.

"HMMM…YES, A CHILD WITH A WARRIOR'S SOUL, WHO CAN FIGHT WITH THE BEST OF THEM AND WHOSE WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR… I… FOR ONE, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE AND WHICH HAS SAVED VALENTINE'S LESS THAN STABLE SANITY ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION."

Yuffie just blinked, then jerked her basin up. The demon wisely jumped back then waggled a finger at her sudden grin. THEN…grinned himself at her widening eyes as he unbuckled several buckles She yelped as the bed dipped when he slid into it behind Ice. Before the ninja could scramble out, one strong, surprisingly soft skinned arm curled around Ice and tightened across the ninja's waist pulling her in against the Were's warm body. Ice pushed her rump back into the curve of Chaos's body and he felt her slowly relax as she finally gave in to her shut down reflex.

"YOU NEED TO GET SOME REST, YUFFIE."

With a whispering rustle, one warm dark wing stretched across the two female bodies. The dark one heard Yuffie's mumbled,

"Yeah…like I could SLEEP with a naked, perverted demon sharing the same bed.

Slender fingers traced along the sensitive underside of the wing, then the girl grabbed the leading edge of it and tucked it under her chin. Chaos hid the slight wince as the supple flight surface was crumpled when she burrowed her face into it, sighed and her breathing gradually evened out.

A little while later…Chaos was quietly wondering just HOW the world's scariest demon had somehow become the world's strangest teddy bear, when the bedroom door slowly cracked open. The slight wave of tobacco smoke made it very evident that the Captain was checking up on Vincent's blood thirsty demon. There was absolute silence for a second and then what sounded suspiciously like a snicker. This was instantly smothered when golden eyes flared open and then narrowed as a sharp talon-ed finger flicked in the sound's general direction.

"NOT A WORD… HIGHWIND."

Was all that was said.

* * *

I could not help myself, I am sure I am not the first person who has wanted to see  
Vincent shake the shit outta Cloud!


	18. Chapter 18

This chapter has been edited to adhere to FF's Maturity ratings. The unedited version can be read at Adult fan fiction if you are of age. This is a fanfiction I make no profit from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 18

Angel set a few more silver retraction clips into the long, curved, gaping incision she had just made in Shadow's shattered back. The scientist ignored the shuddering tremors that passed over the restrained form in waves as she nudged little pieces of bone apart just so she could watch them try to pull together. She could not believe the speed in which his spinal cord was repairing itself, and she wanted to track just how fast full sensation returned to the beast. A low moan worked its way out of the Black's throat and the Doctor took a moment to tighten the muzzle that held that awesome jaw shut, just a little more. Even though it was very late, Angelique did NOT need anyone employed by Shinra and not on HER payroll, hearing the sounds of pain that occasionally escaped the male.

When the brothers had been brought in by HER hand picked crew, the Doctor had gone out of her way to give Rufus's watchdogs…namely the very intelligent and scarily quiet head of the Turks…Tseng, the impression that the two Weres were dead or close to death. That had not been hard to do considering the man had never seen the creature's healing factor in action and he had personally examined the headless corpse of Steel. He had also witnessed Titan's shut down, AND heavily sedated… seemingly… lifeless body go into the freezer. Angel knew that the Weres could be frozen almost solid and their healing abilities would put them into a type of suspended animation. Shadow, in particular, was a broken, torn up wreck and she had let the Turk see them preparing the "dying" beast for a post mortem exam. The man had left, seemingly satisfied, to give Rufus his report. As far as Shinra was concerned…the trio of brothers were now permanent guests in his morgue. With some careful planning, it should be very easy to spirit the two living males (along with Ice, Yuffie…and her other, currently unaware that she was invited, guest.) to her PRIVATE lab…when the well hidden place was finished.

Dr. Destinies thin lips curved in an almost gentle smile as she delicately picked a scalpel out of her instrument tray and slowly ran the silvered, razor edge along the exposed branching surface of the beast's thick Sciatic nerve. Both his left leg and the heavy tail strapped to it twitched, the bared, slick, red muscles leaping and jerking at the…stimulation…A deep, muffled whimper forced its quiet way out of the Black's tightly strapped mouth. The woman casually stroked her free hand through the glorious midnight mane, enjoying the way the creature's intelligent golden eyes rolled in fear and anticipation of pain as he tried to see what she was doing. A mixture of stimulants and refined mako was being fed into him intravenously to keep his shutdown reflex inoperable.(a trick she had learned from Hojo) He could not retreat into the bliss of unconsciousness. Oh yes…Angel could have hurried his healing along by using a little more of the beast's saliva (collected via a small pump she had implanted next to those important glands) to swab the injuries caused by his brother's massive jaws, AND a little less of her silver lined surgical instruments…but where would the fun be, in that?

* * *

Valentine woke rather abruptly…he… was being watched. AND there was a hot, heavy weight resting on his chest. Crimson eyes flashed open and the man had to control the recoil as he found himself looking into Ice's pale eyes. She was laying pressed against his side with her injured leg bent and resting over his waist, her arm was folded across his chest. Her chin rested on that arm whilst she evidently had been studying his sleeping face. Yuffie had "Changed" during the night, and her chocolate striped form was draped around Ice's golden body, legs and tail intertwined around the Weres. She was still fast asleep. The two females…being fur covered… had kicked most of the blankets off and it took the observant man only a second to realize that NO ONE had any clothes on. Well…Yuffie still had her battle harness on, but HE had nothing.

"Uhmm, Chaos…I do have a room. What am I doing HERE?"

"QUITE THE THREESOME…HMMMM?"

There was nothing more disconcerting than Chaos trying to sound innocent. The ancient being just didn't have it in him to pull it off. Vincent didn't say a word, he was too busy trying to control his MALE body's delighted morning response to Ice's warmth and the silky softness of that firmly muscled leg resting across his lower half. His eldest demon took care of that with his next statement.

"ACTUALLY…YOU… HAD A BIT OF A PROBLEM WITH CLOUD LAST NIGHT…"

A vivid memory of Cloud saying something about the Shinra mansion, of being overwhelmed with white hot rage, and his friend's startled…fearful eyes, reared its ugly head and the gunman tensed…

"Oh HELL! Did I….?"

"OH…YES…YOU BLEW HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF…."

Vincent felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room and ice was running through his veins.

"What….?"

Chaos snickered evilly,

"OH RELAX…HOST….YOU DIDN'T HURT THE BOY. GALIAN AND I STEPPED IN…WE…THINK THAT WHAT YOUR FRIEND SUGGESTED IS NOT A BAD IDEA."

Ice must have picked up on the mix of relief, anger, and the sense of betrayal that ran through him because her inner eyelids flicked closed and a small frown marred her lovely face.

A deep growl shuddered through him.

"DON'T BE UPSETTING ICE!"

The ex-Turk forced himself to relax and he purposely quirked his mouth into a slight smile.

"Hnnn…Good morning Ice."

Ice's face cleared. He had to stifle a grunt when she planted both elbows on his chest as she raised up a little, blinked, and a sweet smile curved her velvet lips.

"THAT'S BETTER…"

The demon's tone softened

"YOU… HAVE REASONS TO FEAR AND HATE THAT CURSED PLACE…. BUT…. IF IT IS DONE RIGHT, THE MANSION AND IT'S GROUNDS WILL SEEM LIKE PARADISE TO ICE AND WHISPER."

Another soft grunt forced its way out of Vincent as Ice wiggled her way loose from Yuffie's unconscious, restraining grip by pulling herself on top of the prone gunman. A quick hand steadied and failed to stop her as warm velvet slid across a very pleased portion of his anatomy.

This elicited a soft hum from the Galian beast,

"**Uhmm…Nice…Lucky man**!"

AND a rumbling growl from Chaos

"YOU HAD BETTER….NOT….BE ENJOYING THAT!"

Vincent could only blink as Ice's sweet smile turned totally wicked, the female was fully aware of his reaction, and she casually shifted her hips in a slow sensual caress that drew a smothered hiss out of him, then gave a gape mouthed grin as she rolled hastily off on the other side.

Valentine had a short fight, as with a strangled "LITTLE VIXEN!" an aroused Chaos tried to rise ….the demon gave up after a moment but the gunman knew his eyes were gleaming gold as he watched the Were dig through the hidden pockets in his cloak.

The gunman rolled onto his side as Yuffie yawned, one hand groping around, looking for Ice's warmth. It found… him… instead and her honey eyes popped open. Her sleepy gaze raked him over, widened when they took in his…physical…condition, and the wicked child grinned, flipped over and snuggled her rump tight into him, trapping and squeezing sensitive…things… against hot, firm velveteen. A sharp gasp escaped his mouth as the girl had the audacity to slide her tail between his legs and then roll her ass as said appendage stroked across his bare buttocks.

"Yuffie…" this was a warning growl, and sharp teeth closed on the tip of her long ear as she smothered a giggle in the pillows.

Chaos whispered softly in his mind.

"DO YOU GET THE IMPRESSION THAT…WE…ARE IN BIG TROUBLE?"

Crimson eyes narrowed as a long suffering sigh slipped out past the ear captured between his lips.

"Most definitely!"

Vincent spit that tip out so he could shout a warning when he saw what Ice triumphantly pulled out of his pocket.

"ICE…STOP!…What are you doing?"

Ice dropped the M.E.R. she had been about to open as if it were hot…her face wrinkled in confusion as her hands did a hesitant dance.

"I am… hungry?"

* * *

Ice had been fully prepared to eat an M.E.R. After all…they had been her main nutrition source since she had woken up with her swallowing reflex damaged. Even before then, the Were's had been fed mostly M.E.R.'s (they were nutritionally complete) and a god awful biscuit that Serge called lab cookies…they ALL knew that giving the things the name COOKIE…didn't make them taste any better. The female could only eat those now if they were soaked and blended in water….she much preferred the M.E.R.'s Still, Ice obediently dropped the package when her Alpha ordered her to, sat back on her butt with her feet folded and watched…more than a little confused as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

"You don't have to eat those anymore….go on down to the galley, Highwind has GOT to have something there that you can eat."

The female was so surprised that she didn't catch the next few words. She knew that the door wasn't locked, but it took a second to sink in that the man was going to let her roam around… free. She rose and crept forward as Yuffie pulled her face out of the pillow, the female could hear Valentine's murmur as he translated.

"_REALLY….I can just go out…on my own? What about the Alpha here who thinks we are monsters_?"

The Were could not hide the fact that her long fingered hands were shaking.

Yuffie's eye's flashed to yellow as they narrowed dangerously…

"You go ahead on down. We will be there in a few…and don't you worry about that crusty old fart….I am going to take care of him." Thin lips pulled back into a nasty smile. "HOUSEBROKE, monsters my ass."

Ice grinned, showing elongated canines in reaction to the girl's tooth showing expression. Long fingernails quietly tapped the basin that Chaos had left for the young woman,

"_Yuffie….if I were you….I would stay in that form while we are flying….Weres CAN'T get motion sickness."_

Then Ice spun and padded across the room, heading for the door.

Vincent cleared his throat as she reached for the handle, and Ice snatched her hand back. Ha…. she knew it was too good too be true. The golden female turned, not realizing that her mane had sucked in and her lower lip was creeping out in a very sad, woe begotten look…Damn it…. she was HUNGRY. Her Alpha raised himself up on one elbow and his odd but captivating eyes glimmered with gold highlights as they swept over her. She followed his gaze and flattened her ears in embarrassment, CRAP she had not made THAT mistake since she was a kit. A quick pounce forwards and she claimed the ragged scarlet cloak. She did not miss the man's defeated sigh as he watched her struggle with…HIS… garment's leather belts. It took her a couple of moments to get the darned thing settled on her lithe frame. What in the HELL did he need all of these buckles for? A soft grunt had her glaring at the couple on the bed, Yuffie had elbowed Vincent in the ribs, evidently the man was going to complain about her commandeering his cloak. Turning, ah… she did enjoy the way the crimson cloth swirled dramatically around her feet, Ice drew herself up, a smug look settling over her pretty face as she strode out of the door.

* * *

Rude sipped his coffee and watched Cid Highwind as the man cooked bacon and eggs. The dark man shook his head slightly in wonder. How the sky Captain avoided a coronary with the way he smoked and ate was beyond him. The quiet Turk was content with his morning java and a coupe of pieces of peanut butter toast. The soft rustle of cloth drew his attention and he watched as Ice stopped in the doorway, nervously studying the as yet unaware Captain's broad back. The female's head lifted and he could see her nose twitch at the smell of the frying bacon, a pink tongue tip crept out from between her lips as she padded forwards to see what he was cooking.

Not wanting to see hot grease and eggs go flying, Rude softly cleared his throat…

"Uhmm…female off the port side, Captain."

The Turk had to give the man credit for nerves of steel as he look sideways without flinching. Of course the exotic woman's pale, pale eyes and lovely cinnamon mane were very easy on the eyes. Surprisingly, the dark crimson of the cloak (he recognized the worn thing as Vincent's) she was wrapped in, did not wash the rich color out of the swirling mane. Instead, the soft golden streaks and deeper, richer, spice tones of that silky mass seemed to stand out more as it moved around her body like it had a life of its own.

An odd look passed over Highwind's face…

"Bacon and eggs…do ya want some?"

Rude was thankful that his shades hid the way his eyes shot open at the fact that not a single swear word escaped the man's notorious mouth.

Ice's lips twitched down and her hands flowed through a short phrase.

Cid frowned…

"Sorry… don't speak fu…uhmm…hand."

Rude spoke up.

"_She says that although that looks and smells…wonderful…she doubts that she would be able to swallow it." _

At the captain's startled look, the Turk just shook his head and tapped his throat.

The female's pale eye's blinked wistfully, and Ice reached out a long finger to stroke down the Captain's ever present tea pot.

Cid's sharp blue gaze followed it and his rough face broke into a smile…

"Hey…do ya like tea?"

The man reached up to throw open a cupboard…hell… it wasn't often he ran into another tea lover. Box upon stacked box of different types of tea were revealed.

"What kind would ya like?"

Rude hid his smile in his coffee cup at the Were's bewildered, overwhelmed look. Cid thankfully saw it too, he gently took the female by the shoulder and gave her a light push towards the table…

"You go and sit yer a. .butt down, let Captain Cid…surprise ya."

As an odd sputter and choking sound came from the table, Cid turned with a baleful glare and stabbed a finger at Rude,

"Not a fucking word…Turk."

The big man wisely swallowed anything he might have said. They were a long way up.

Rude contented himself with a small curl of the corners of his mouth as the quiet female nervously settled herself on the edge of her chair. That long tail ghosted up, stroked the table in front of her then disappeared. Rude was aware that his shades made the creature nervous but…he kept them on as they made it possible to watch her without her feeling threatened by a direct stare. As he picked up his toast, he observed the widening of her nostrils as the scent of the peanut butter reached her. The Were's expressive ears twitched all of the way forwards and an avid….greedy… look suddenly passed over her face. It WAS the creamy type, so the Turk, feeling it wouldn't do any harm, slid the open jar Ice's way. He was not prepared when the female scooped up a spoon, dredged up about half a cup of the gooey nut butter and had it sucked into her mouth in less time than it took him to take a breath.

Well hell….That couldn't be good.

"HEY…."

Ice's pale eye's narrowed…and the spoon clattered to the table as her fingers flew, "_What…? I used a spoon!_"

Ice was NOT going to give the sweet, salty, creamy, heavenly treat she had stuffed and packed into her cheek pouches up, just because this greedy Alpha male had changed his mind about sharing. No sir…Before he could make her spit it out….the female did her best to swallow the mouthful. It was smooth, and soft, so it SHOULD have slid down her damaged throat with little problem. Instead… the insidious stuff, stuck and packed in tight. The Were gagged… trying to clear it out and just made matters worse as it gummed everything, including her airway, closed.

"SHIT!"

Rude shot out of his chair as the female gagged again, pushing herself up and away from the table…it was very evident that she could not breath.

Cid spun around, took in the little scene and moved with amazing speed. He was behind Ice in a heartbeat, strong arms wrapped just under her ribcage as he squeezed in and up, hard. He did this twice and for a second it seemed the obstruction cleared, then the female tried to swallow and they were back to square one. Letting her go…Highwind flew over to the intercom.

"Dr. Beckett…to the Galley…Stat."

Panic crossed the sky Captain's gruff face as Ice sagged to her hands and knee's, shaking her head, gagging and retching.

"DOC….Medical emergency… get your shittin ass to the kitchen…. fucking A.S.A.P.!

* * *

Whisper had awakened when Rude rolled himself out of bed. Long white ears twitched as the big man showered, dressed, and strolled over to gaze down at his, dead to the world, partner. (Who was, oh so pleasantly, wrapped around yours truly!) Then, while muttering softly to himself, the big man silently exited the room. The Albino hummed softly as Reno, disturbed by the sound of the door closing. rolled onto his back, and mumbled something about… "not wanting a fucking assignment today…go away, Tseng…"

Whisper blinked wistfully and carefully stroked a strand of red hair that was draped across the man's creamy shoulder. Feathery brows furrowed as the strong, but sensitive digit followed that blazing lock down to trace around a nasty bruise. Reno winced in his sleep, and the White lifted the blankets, soft lips pursing unhappily at the pattern of livid blue, purple, black and green splashed across his sleeping companion's ribcage and finely chiseled abs. The man was going to be SORE when he woke up! Scarlet eyes narrowed…if he were back with his sibs, Whisper would have eased a brother's pain without hesitation. BUT….he did not know what the proper protocol would be in this new and very alien Troop. Reno stirred again and his lips thinned as the small motion pulled at stiff, pained muscles. The Were snorted softly…ah to hell with it…

A careful kiss was placed on the first bruise. When the man did not wake, Whisper's strong, broad tongue followed. It was an …odd…sensation, feeling skin slide under his tongue's ministration. It was NICE not having to deal with fur. Reno's warm skin was silky smooth and slightly smoky to the Were's highly developed sense of taste. Sensitive nerves picked up on the fact that the area around the injury was very hot. Whisper first took a delicate swipe across the bruise itself then worked that strong, soothing appendage in small circles, being sure to cover the whole area that was abnormally heated. When the combination of massage, warm wet and the cooling affect of his breath had removed most of that painful heat, the male shifted and moved on to the next hot spot. Whisper worked his way across the steadily rising and falling ribcage. Then he peeled the blanket back to get at the lower injuries. As he started on a particular bad dark area over the flare of Reno's hip, the sleeper shifted as if he were going to roll. Whisper didn't even look up…he just carefully pinned said hip and continued to work at getting the heat out of the area with soft lips and a pliant tongue.

Reno's breath hitched oddly and one hand lifted as if to push Whisper's head away, but the male would have NONE of that. This was first aid… and his Alpha could just lay still until it was finished. Whisper caught the hand in his own, pressing it down into the mattress. When it fisted itself into the sheets under his gentle hold, the Were looked up, concerned that Reno was angry with him. The man's pale lids were at half mast and the intense gaze that met his own was…. Hungry. Whisper couldn't help himself, his head dropped as he turned his silken mouth's unwavering attention to a small green bruise at the juncture of one long, slim leg and ….. Ha…humans had their fur in the WEIRDEST of places!

* * *

Reno had a rough night. By the time he had gotten Whisper safely settled AND made a report to Tseng via cell phone, his tired, aching body just wanted to drop. Then… because of that tired, aching body, and the need to stay away from much needed alcohol until circumstances were a little more stable, his rest was broken and fitful. He had just gotten his body wrapped around a warm, soothing, bed partner (now that was strange, usually his night time "entertainment", DIDN'T… stay the night) when he heard Tseng enter his apartment, probably to drag him out of his comfortable nest and send him on another assignment. He told the man just how he felt about that, and will wonders never cease, his fucking boss left.

The man had just sunk back down into bliss, when a slight movement made pain flare across his ribs. Damn it! He squirmed into a different position and made himself lay still trying to drop back into a deeper sleep. This was made easier as with a small twinge of pain at first, a slightly rough, WONDERFULLY adept….something… worked at that annoying spot with smooth, warm, slightly wet strokes. Followed by soft lips and cooling breath. After only a few moments of this incredible…attention…the pain melted away and inflamed, sore muscles relaxed. A soft sigh escaped Reno's slack mouth as his silent benefactor moved on to work on the next spot. For a few minutes, the redhead just floated…still mostly asleep… but subconsciously enjoying the very sensual sensations and pain relief being gifted to him from that talented mouth.

When his warm blankets were pulled back, Reno jerked to full awareness. With his eyes just slitted open he could see Whisper's broad shoulders spanned over his now exposed lower body. The redhead had to ruthlessly clamp down on the sudden desire to run his fingers over what he knew was solid flesh overlaid with silky softness. Pale eyes glimmered as the man enjoyed the sight of the White's muscles rolling and sliding under shimmering, ivory velveteen, while the male supported his weight up and off of his bed partner's pelvis. The male shifted his weight to apply his strong tongue to the point of Reno's hip. As his head dipped, that thick, creamy mane swirled like a living thing, silky strands trailing across and seductively tickling flesh that wasn't bruised but was most definitely becoming inflamed.

OKAY…so much for control! Reno's hips lifted and rolled as if they had a mind of their own, and his lusting hand gave into it's desire to touch and stroke. Only to be thwarted by Whisper gently, but firmly, pushing his hips tight into the mattress, tongue never stopping, and one large hand engulfing the man's slender one, pinning it to the bed. Having nothing else to do…said hand twisted it's long fingers into the sheets.

There was a flash of crimson as Whisper hesitated and glanced up to study Reno's face. Then… with an expression that could only be interpreted as sly on his exotically beautiful, almost human face, the White dipped his head again to slide his tongue over the junction of one long, pale leg and….Reno could not stop the soft hiss that pushed past his lips as the very edge of that marvelous appendage "slipped" lightly brushing against satin skin that eagerly applauded the sensation. The Albino kept his hold on Reno's hip and hand preventing the man from moving as he worked the almost non-existent sore spot in the joining of leg and body over slowly but thoroughly. Every time that strong, slightly rough, warm tongue finished a lick, it would tickle along areas that had NOTHING to do with his injuries. Reno never knew where it was going to stroke next and in just a very few minutes he was almost insane with NEED as he breathlessly waited for that next seductive touch.

There was a quiet rustle as the Albino shifted his position and warm breath ghosted across to tickle through Reno's flame colored pubic hair. Whisper's hot tongue cupped and then stroked and somehow… the White flattened the strong muscle and its edges curled around to massage eager flesh. Rhythmic waves alternated from side to side as the male's incredible mouth traveled up. When he reached the top, his silken lips closed and that magical tongue swirled gently around, its slightly rough texture stimulating already hyper sensitive soft skin as the Were lightly sucked. Reno almost screamed at the electric jolt that rolled through him. He bucked against Whisper's restraining grip as a groan and what sounded suspiciously like a whimper escaped between pants.,

"Unnn…Gods, Whisper…!"

The Were gave one final torturous swipe and then released his powerful hold on the man. He shifted his weight up, soft mouth nuzzling and kissing. Reno sucked in a breath as the occasional sharp canine scraped, leaving fiery trails across his skin. The Turk hummed with pleasure as the Albino's upward progress trapped him against that silky, firm belly. With a soft moan and curse, Reno arched his back and rocked his hips from side to side increasing the friction and pressure. Whisper hesitated as his tongue found the nub of a nipple and the man under him growled as sharp teeth replaced soft lips. The Were worried at that pretty pink bud until it swelled and became rock hard in his mouth. Then his sensual lips came back into play as he sucked lightly then released his hold to blow warm air across the highly sensitized thing. Inner eyelids flicked and Whispers long ears twitched forwards, listening to every sound that was wrung out of the experienced Turk's mouth.

Reno moaned, "GODS…" and the man buried his fists in the flowing mane. He dragged Whisper up and pulled that sweet, tantalizing, torturing mouth down over his own.

* * *

Cid watched in helplessness as Ice writhed, trying desperately to clear her throat enough to get a breath. Rude was on his knees, hands hovering over the female, as he tried to find a way to help. The Were's struggles were getting weaker by the minute. More in frustration then anything, the Captain hit the intercom again.

"Gods damn it! Becket get your fucking ASS down here!"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the petite woman came sliding through the doorway. Her sharp eyes swept the room, and she was kneeling next to Rude in the next second. Rude murmured…"peanut butter"…as the Vet straddled Ice's waist, rolled the female on her side and putting her hands together, slammed them hard between the Were's shoulder blades. Ice's pale eyes flew open and for a moment it seemed she got a shot of air. Then the damaged throat reflexively swallowed and the female was twisting in their hands again, still trying to draw a breath. Inner eyelids closed down and those wide eyes shifted to slate grey.

Dr. Beckett shot a glare at the dark Turk.

"Hold her…I need my hands!"

As Rude complied, Marion shoved a thumb into the hinge of Ice's jaw, forcing and holding her mouth open. BOTH Cid and the quiet assassin sucked in a breath as the desperate woman stuck the fingers of her other hand into that dangerous mouth, sweeping them around as she removed the sticky mess.

* * *

What had started out as first aid….hiding just a hint of desire….(Whisper ALWAYS tried to be honest with himself) became something totally different when the male caught the lust peeking out of Reno's half hidden eyes. The softly curling, copper nest of pubic hair that the man's lovely member was nestled in, trapped and concentrated the smoky, musky scent that was uniquely Reno's. After having his nose almost buried in that thick thatch, drinking in the man's tantalizing smell, the need to TASTE drove the White to take a risk. Whisper allowed his tongue to lightly skim across the soft skin that bore no sign of bruising. The hiss that caressed his ears encouraged the male to take quick flicking tastes at the end of every stroke. The little hints that these tongue caresses provided of salty, musky, smoky, sweet Reno were just NOT enough! Throwing caution to the wind, the Were shifted his weight and surrounded that part of his Alpha that he so wanted to taste. He wrapped his mobile tongue over every inch, rolling the muscular edges and massaging as he savored that incredible flavor until he reached the end. When the White got there, the increase in musk and the slightly bitter taste were only a part of the pleasure. Pure delight filled him as his twitching ears drank up the sounds of passion this wrung out of his Alpha.

Whisper let his mind make the transition from first aid/comfort to sexual arousal. This set off the desire to ALLOW himself to enjoy Reno's flavor as he worked his way up the man's body. His mobile lips kissed and sucked lightly, interspersed with the occasional soft scrape (done with utmost caution) of his elongated canines to release more TASTE into his eager mouth. The fact that Reno pressed himself up against his tight belly, rocking slowly back and forth, drove the white male into ecstasy. He had never been allowed to explore his sexuality, and the punishment for self indulgence conditioned ALL of the Troop to leave those…THINGS…totally alone. So…the exquisite, very physical sensation of Reno's pleasure pressing up into his tight abs and sliding across his soft fur breathed his own passion into a raging fire all its own. Warm pleasure coursed through the Albino as Reno shifted a thigh between his own muscled legs and lifted it, trapping and pressing him between his own silkiness and the warm smoothness of skin. Whisper's tongue found the nub of a nipple and the tightness in his lower belly and groin translated into a serious itch that begged to be scratched. Not knowing exactly what release his body was demanding, the White's tongue, teeth, and mouth, attacked that pretty pink bud until it was as hard and erect as what was between his legs. He imitated the experienced man by sliding and rocking himself against the hard muscle and supple skin of Reno's thigh. When the man fisted his hands into the Were's creamy mane, the male allowed his lips to be captured, and whimpered into the redhead's hungry sweet mouth as the man's tongue slid slowly in and then out past his lips in a parody of the sexual act that he had witnessed between Chaos and Ice. (what he had seen between Steel and Vixen he considered…mating…not the pleasure filled SEX that his current leader's demon had engaged in)

So immersed was he in the interplay of tongue and lips that he did not resist in the slightest when Reno arched up and flipped them. The Were ended up in the submissive position, on his back with Reno's strong legs straddling his narrow hips and the Alpha's wonderful, tight buttocks seated snuggly over his balls. Reno was looking down, eyelids drooping over languid eyes, as he also admired the contrast between himself and what the other male had to offer. Both long fingered hands encircled what he saw, and he slid them down and then up, with an almost painful, deliberately slow stroke, rolling the two satiny surfaces against each other. The White's intelligence was overwhelmed with heat, NEED, and sensual pleasure. His pelvis rocked up hard against Reno's ass as Whisper responded to the simulation by thrusting himself up against those, sliding, teasing, strong, hot hands.

* * *

Reno was admiring the wanton beauty of the body rocking under his, and wondering how he was going to reach the ever present tube of lube that always rode in his jacket's pocket when the ship wide intercom crackled into life.

"Dr. Beckett… to the galley…stat. DOC…medical emergency…Get your shittin ass to the kitchen…fucking PRONTO!"

There was pure panic in the sky Captains rough voice.

Reno knew that if Highwind was paging the new Doctor it had to involve either Yuffie or Ice…He caught Whisper's gaze as those strange red pupils dilated….the Were had figured that out too. DAMN IT! Tseng had made it very clear that HE was responsible for that pair. Reno wasn't even off of the bed before the white Male had shifted into beast form. Reno managed to throw on some pants as the pair hit the door running. Any crew member that didn't clear the way because they recognized the dangerous and volatile Turk, hastily vacated the pathway at the sight of the red eyed, White monster rolling along at his side. Reno, ever the Turk, noticed this and thought that he should approach Rufus on recruiting Whisper when they needed extra crowd control. When they shot through the galley door the beast was slightly ahead. Reno got a quick glimpse of Ice on the floor, Rude holding her down and the "Whitecoat" thumping the female HARD on the back.

The redhead didn't even hesitate, he hit the Albino, taking him down in a flying tackle.

* * *

There was a commotion in the doorway as Whisper came skidding in. The visibly upset male was in beast form and seeing the Doctor straddling his sister…set… him… off.

"SHIT!"

This came from Reno as he launched himself, tackling the White before he made one stride towards the woman who was NOT aware of the danger she was in.

She was focused on the deathly quiet form of Ice. Again she drew back and fisted the now still female between the shoulder blades. When nothing changed, the Vet swore and inserted her hand back into the Were's mouth as far as it would go, fingers scrabbling as they dug another glob of the nut butter out. This time she had Rude roll Ice on her back and she literally bounced her full weight on the arched rib cage, compressing it hard and fast. A coughing grunt escaped the Were's ridged throat and before Ice could swallow again, slimy fingers shot in and dug the rest of the mass out. For a second, everyone froze as nothing changed, then Ice's back arched as she sucked in a huge gasp of much needed air. Rude quickly rolled the golden female back on her side as she coughed, gagged and spat.

* * *

Whisper had been still under Reno's lanky form. He had gone from raging passion, to fear, to rage in the space of a few minutes and his intelligence was fighting to reassert itself against his animal instincts. As he fought with himself, he realized that the WOMAN was trying to help Ice…then as his sister managed a choking breath, his quick mind caught up with what he was seeing. The White surged up, knocking the Turk off. In two strides he covered the distance to the kneeling Vet and before she could even scream, he scooped her up, rose onto his hind legs and slammed her against the sink. He used his greater weight and his strong hips to pin the woman as his powerful hands twisted the faucets on, trapped her UNGLOVED, peanut butter/SALIVA covered hands and thrust them into the running water. Cid hit the counter right behind them, hoping to yank the scientist away before Whisper did her bodily harm,.

Scarlet eyes rolled at him while the panicked Were sputtered,

"Hands, Captain!…teeth….VIRUS.."

Cid had seen the video of the unfortunate lab tech.

"DamnSHITfuck!"

He grabbed the dish soap and dumped it on the now struggling woman's hands.

"BE fricken STILL," he hissed as his calloused hands worked everything into a thick lather.

He could not see any tinge of blood. Whisper shoved everyone's hands back under the hot water ignoring Cid's loud, rather virulent reaction to the sting. Then the White backed up a little, still supporting the woman as she swayed on shaking legs. He had her hands up, inspecting every inch of them one finger at a time.

* * *

Marion was still in her flannel nightwear, when Cid's panicked voice rang out over the intercom. She was out of her room before he even finished. When she shot into the kitchen and saw her female ward on the ground, gagging and writhing she did not need Rude's terse statement of…peanut butter…. to figure out what was going on. Although, it did help to know what was blocking the specimen's airway. When her first hard thump did nothing, the Doctor felt a little panic, she did not have the necessary equipment to perform a tracheotomy on the visibly weakening female. Without thinking, she did what every medically trained person was taught to do in choking situation…even vets. She dug around, clearing as much of the gooey nut butter out of Ice's mouth …and her cheek pouches…ha… she had just KNOWN that these primate based mutants would have those. What had possessed the Were to stuff that much peanut butter in her mouth to begin with? A second thump still achieved nothing, so she stuck her fingers as far down that unusually narrow throat as she could, scooping out more of the stuff. She clinically noticed that there was blood mixed in with the mess. Then…hoping she had the majority of it out… she executed a prone Heimlich maneuver. YES…Dr. Beckett straightened up as the female gagged, spat and sucked in a desperate breath.

The woman had no chance to celebrate as she was suddenly yanked up by Ice's powerful, white brother…OH SHIT!…was all she had time to think before she was slammed against the sink. As the beast pinned her hard with its hips. (Oh My Gods….was that a partial erection she felt grinding into her ass?) she tried to control her panic and not struggle. The woman did not want to trigger a prey, or dominance response.….she knew just how powerful primates were and one this size could tear her into little bleeding pieces. She could not BELIEVE when the up until now, unpleasant airship Captain, shot forwards…his expression making it very clear that he was intent on rescuing her. Realizing that the man had no chance, the Doctor started to struggle only to freeze as the Albino AND the Captain scrubbed frantically at her slimy hands. WHAT THE HELL? Both males pulled back, and Marion was oddly thankful that Whisper did not release her. She would have fallen if he had. There was a blur of ivory and black and a hard hand closed over her elbow. She tore her eye's away from the White's intense scrutiny of her fingers and just about vomited when she looked into the hot, gold in red eyes of an angry Valentine. He did not help her equilibrium when he gave her a hard shake.

"What in HADES…do you think you were doing?"

The man took over the odd task of studying her fingers. (OKAY… these people evidently had information she was not privy to.) And like the night before her own temper surged up to purge her fear. She tried to yank her arm out of his grip.

"I was saving her life….It's not like I would WANT to perform a trache with steak knives and kitchen utensils!"

* * *

The fear that they were going to have to deal with a second generation Change, had Vincent almost angry as he shook the little Doctor. This anger/fear didn't relent until he had checked her soft hands over and confirmed to himself that there were no nicks or cuts caused by accidental contact with Ice's sharp canines. Her response to his barked question made the ex-Turk realize that the woman was not aware of the danger she had been in. He let her go and pinched the bridge of his nose between shaking fingers. A slight tug on his pants (the only thing he was wearing…he had been in the shower when Cid's call had blared out) drew his attention. He looked down at Ice who with Rude's help had sat up. The Were's face was tear streaked and her hands flew through the same pattern over and over.

_"I am sorry…It just smelled so good! I am sorry….Did I bite her?….I am sorry" _

It was very evident to his trained eye that Ice was overwrought and well on her way to making herself sick.

There was a harsh murmur in his head.

"DO SOMETHING…VALENTINE!"

Vincent knelt and caught those fluttering hand's between flesh and claw.

"It's alright Ice….the Doctor is fine….no harm done."

He was rewarded by a watery smile followed by a cough and a sniffle. He let go of those hands and tugged on his cloak which was tangled around her. Now… not only did it have tears, holes and bloodstains, but it was liberally smeared with saliva and peanut butter.

"Hnnnn….maybe you can just keep this now?"

The Were snorted, and then coughed…an odd look crossed her face as her tongue worked in her mouth. There was still a residue of the nut butter in there and the man caught the greedy look in her eyes at its taste.

His crimson gaze flashed around the room, he did not miss the way Ice's white brother was easing towards the open peanut butter jar.

"OKAY…people. We need to be careful in what we give these guys to eat. They are not….familiar….with a lot of the things that are common to us. And Whisper….don't you…. dare!"

The White Male froze…caught in the act of reaching for that jar of forbidden pleasure.

At the Male's woe begotten look, Rude stood up…

"Ah HELL…I wasn't that hungry anyways."

The big Turk gave the White what was left of his toast with the admonishment…

"SMALL bites only…!"

Valentine helped Ice to her feet and caught the strange look that crossed the petite Vet's pleasant face. She was watching Whisper take small bites and cram them back into his cheek pouches with an almost frantic look on his face. Her brown eye's didn't move as she asked… "What HAVE they been eating?"

Whisper looked up, his words were muffled by peanut butter,

"Mostly…whatever I could catch…." He nodded towards his sister, "Ice has been limited to soup, pinkies, and M.E.R's." The White swallowed, licked his lips and then wrinkled them…"Oh yes…and lets not forget….Lab cookies."

Even Ice grimaced at the thought of those nasty things.

The ex-Turk had a sneaking suspicion as the Vet winced…

"Lab Cookies?"

"Um Hum…." Whisper was licking every bit of nut butter off of his hands while Ice looked on in…envy. "Little hard biscuits… about yay big…"

"Oh…." the woman turned to Cid… "well Captain…lets see what you have here, that Ice can eat."

Twenty minutes later saw Ice, Whisper, and Yuffie (she had scrambled in shortly after Vincent and after a hard look at Cid, and a comment about possibly peeing on the sky Captain's carpet, she had planted her rump next to Ice) ) seated at the table working their way through cups of honey sweetened mint tea and heavily sweetened, butter laden bowls of Cream of Wheat. (Cid always had some of the bland cereal on hand…every now and then he ate it in remembrance of his grandmother who had a magic way of making the stuff an almost decadent treat.) Vincent and Reno had returned to their rooms to finish dressing…although Dr. Beckett, Ice and Yuffie had not been too terribly upset at the expanse of two pale, well developed, male torsos ( Valentine's was liberally dappled with water droplets) and the very human sight of Vincent dealing with dripping, long, ebony hair.

As the Were's enjoyed their breakfast…Marion caught the Captain's arm and drew him aside.

"Do you think we can make a supply stop before we reach Neibelhiem?"

Cid's eyebrows arched up, he had seen the Doctor load supplies for the Were's when she had arrived. The woman winced at his expression and her brown eyes drifted towards the table and its blissed-out inhabitants.

"AND….," There was a soft sigh here. "I need to unload at least a ton of…Lab cookies."

* * *

Sorry this will be the only one loaded tonight. Feeling a bit under the weather.


	19. Chapter 19

This chapter has been edited from the original to fit with in FF's maturity guidelines. The unedited verysion can be read on adult fan fiction. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 19

Marion was in the medical bay with her equipment and supplies. She was having real problems correlating the Shinra lab "Specimens" that Dr. Angelique had hired her to study and provide care for, with the obviously intelligent, and personable individuals she had been presented with. The Vet had been expecting slightly above average, intelligent primates. Not creatures that could think, talk and "Change" into exotically beautiful quasi-human's. AND… after seeing Reno's video of what COULD happen if you just happened to be infected with the Were's virulent virus….well….she had a full blown panic attack. HOLY SHIT! If the woman had been aware of the very real danger that came with this assignment, she would have thought twice about taking it….good money or not! Marion knew she was WAY out of her league here.

When she had made her report to Angel this morning, the head scientist had made soothing noises and told her to just "go with it" as NO ONE was truly familiar with what they were dealing with. The woman did apologize for withholding the risk factor, making the comment that she hadn't wanted to frighten Marion into not accepting a position that could boast her career into the stratosphere. She also pointed out that this was probably just slightly more dangerous then dealing with some of the potentially lethal diseases that animals could transmit to humans in her career as a Veterinarian.

One hand crept up to try and rub away the tension headache that was developing behind her eyes, as the young woman snorted…yeah RIGHT! She wasn't the MOST experienced person in this cut throat field…but Marion knew that something was OFF here. Little alarm bells were bonging in her aching head, their vibrations quietly tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. The Vet decided then and there that she was going to put a lot of effort into covering her ass! She had learned early in life that no one else would do it for her. Dr. Becket kept her report to the bare minimum that she thought she could get away with. Mainly… that the Specimens had arrived slightly damaged but were adjusting to things as well as could be expected. She did mention that they were making a stop but kept the reason vague, saying that they had to pick up some unexpected supplies…NOT that she was having to re-evaluate the creature's ENTIRE future diet.

The fingers of one hand tapped impatiently on the desk….while she chewed aggressively on her pen. The Vet was having a hell of a time trying to plan a balanced, pleasant diet that Ice would be able to swallow. Maybe Highwind would have some suggestions? Marion had been amazed to find out that the gruff, ill tempered, foul mouthed pilot had a HUGE heart buried under that crusty exterior.

When she had told the Captain that she needed to offload the…lab cookies, He had snickered wickedly. Then the surprising man had scratched a hand through his bristly hair, rocked back on his heels and muttered something about "Gods be damned Shinra assholes screwing with my fucking schedule!" Those amazing blue eyes had drifted over to catch the golden Were female glance furtively around, then snatch her bowl up to lick it clean.

"Aww DAMN….there's no shitin reason that we can't make a detour to Rocket town."

A surprisingly gentle smile had twisted the man's lips up as he watched Whisper copy his sister.

"HELL, If I was them… I wouldn't want to eat no friggin…Lab Cookies…either."

Angel seemed to have no problems with this. As a matter of fact, the older scientist had urged her to have the group…"slow down and kill some time"….as re-fitting the Shinra mansion was something that was going to take a couple of more days. Reno's boss had evidently given the man the same information, as the Turk's (thankfully) had expressed no dissatisfaction with the delay in their arrival time.

A small sound drew her attention away from her distressingly short list, and the Vet glanced up to see Ice frozen in her doorway. Marion let her mouth release her pen as the scientist in her took mental notes. Her experienced eyes noted that the female's elegant ears where so flattened that they would have been buried in that luxurious mane if it hadn't also been sucked flat . Her body language said…. "I SO don't want to be here," even as Ice stepped cautiously through the door. Dr. Becket studied the too loose black pants and the worn, stained crimson cloak (both were obviously Valentine's and from the way the golden female clutched that ragged red material around her lithe form, Marion figured the man would be lucky if he ever got to wear it again.) and didn't even notice as her hand added…new clothes ….to the bottom of her list.

Speaking of the scary ex-Turk, Vincent came in slowly behind Ice. The Vet had to stifle a slightly confused giggle. The man had almost the same…I SO don't want to be HERE….demeanor, as Ice. Noticing that Ice's wide, pale eyes (and the demon ridden man's scarlet ones) were focused intently on her white lab coat, Marion stood up, casually stretched, and in the same motion slowly slipped the offending thing off. She gave the exotic Were a close mouthed smile, knowing that her primate nature would interpret a tooth showing one as a threat.

Marion kept her tone, even and soft. (she had also noted the tense set of Valentine's shoulders, so this wasn't just for Ice's sake!)

"Can I do something for the two of you?"

Ice gave her a tremulous smile and padded towards the desk. The Were's graceful hands flowed through a complex dance.

* * *

Vincent was in the process of trying to find Cloud when Yuffie called his cell and relayed that Ice needed him. The gunman hesitated…the fact that he had seen neither hide or hair of the quiet swordsman after his loss of control had his insides twisted up in knots from repressing the anxiety and guilt that was eating at him. Sure…his demons kept assuring him that he had done no harm, BUT…he knew that those two would lie…just to avoid having to experience whatever penance he felt he might deserve.

"DAH…YA THINK?"

The man studiously ignored the demon's snorted comment and hoped he would run into Cloud on his way back to Yuffie's quarters. He had NO such luck.

Ice was sitting cross legged on the bed when he entered the room. Vincent couldn't help but notice that now not only did the female have custody of his slightly damp cloak…but SOMEHOW…she had acquired a pair of his pants. Yuffie was twisting and turning in front of the room's full length mirror, evidently trying to get a good view of her "Changed" form. Valentine had to bite back a smile as the young woman turned a full circle whilst muttering…"Damn it…does this tail make my butt look big?"

"TELL HER IT MAKES HER BUTT LOOK TOTALLY….BITEABLE."

"I don't think so….I KNOW better than to answer a question like that…And… what are you doing looking at MY mate's BUTT?"

"HEY I'M A DEMON….I AM SUPPOSED TO BE A LECH." There was a soft growl. "LET ME OUT….AND I'LL OGLE MY OWN MATE'S PRETTY BEHIND."

The Galian beast joined in with an amorous purr…"**Oh yes, you two go ahead and just…ogle…Me, I wanna bump that baby…hard. Hehehe**!"

This was accompanied by some…interesting… vivid imagery.

Vincent didn't notice the twin looks of concern that changed to sly understanding as two noses twitched, while he drew himself up, pinched the bridge of his nose between his lightly trembling fingers and told his set of sex starved demons to kindly restrain themselves.

When he opened his eyes, it was to witness twin sets of eyelids drooping quickly to hide the greedy lust swirling through honey gold and arctic blue…. DAMN…. Needless to say, the ex-Turk was already more than stressed when Ice asked him to accompany her to the airship's medical bay.

When they arrived, Vincent had to stop as Ice eased her way through the door and into the Doctor's domain. The man's visceral reaction to the antiseptic smell of the ship's hospital, and the sight of a white lab coat had his already roiling stomach threatening to exit through his mouth. GOD'S… he hated these places!

Chaos watched as terrible, painful, memories surfaced and oozed through his Host's unstable mind. The Ancient Being winced as his own guilt, an emotion that the demon rarely had to deal with, echoed in reaction. HE had been fully capable of blunting the agony and terror that Valentine had experienced at the hands of Hojo after his implantation. Such was the dark one's anger, humiliation , and hate at that time, that he had done nothing, totally willing to bear the pain himself as long as his unwanted vessel was suffering.

Galian stirred.

"**Your behavior was unfair…it wasn't his fault**."

Chaos snarled softly at his subordinate.

"I KNOW THAT…I KNEW IT THEN. I JUST DIDN'T CARE."

The beast answered very softly…

**"AND… do you care now?"**

Caught uncomfortably between his conscience and his very nature, the Demon Lord contented himself with growling..

"SHUT UP…BEAST!"

Then the demon made some small adjustments to his Host's physiology so that at least the man wouldn't humiliate himself by throwing up on the Doctor's shiny, clean floor. Chaos gave Vincent a hard push…

"COME ON HOST….MAN UP! IT IS NOT AS IF THAT BIG, BAD…TINY…WOMAN IS GOING TO GET THE BEST OF YOU…OR…ME!"

The dark one was satisfied when Valentine took a shuddering breath and strode through the door, but he could not resist whispering.

"ALTHOUGH, IF THE BITCH PULLS OUT A BOOK ON EXORCISM….YOU MIGHT JUST WANT TO RUN!"

It only took a couple of minutes, with Vincent helping to translate, for Ice to explain to Dr. Marion (Oddly, the sign that Ice used for the Vet translated as…. Velvet/Steel…note to self, ask her about that.) that Yuffie had only one shot of the Were's antibodies left. The petite Vet nodded her understanding as Ice explained what was needed to make more dosages. Vincent… who had the knowledge of what they were discussing tortured into him, felt a slight stab of unease.

"Ice… how much of your blood is required in order to distill one dose of antibodies?"

"_Three pints usually makes two syringes, but because I can't push my system into full production of antibodies in order to make the transition to full human, it will probably require four pints now." _

Silvery blue eyes flickered as Vincent's eyebrows shot up in shock.

The man's crimson eyes flashed to Doctor Becket's face as the woman sucked in a stunned breath.

Ice made calming gestures with her hands.

_"It is no problem, we replace our blood very quickly. I can easily…donate… this amount every day." _

Vincent took a second to try and calm BOTH Galian and Chaos as the upset demon's gave him their opinion of this.

"Can Whisper's blood be used to make what Yuffie needs?"

The ex-Turk saw Marion shake her head as he concentrated on what Ice had to say. The Were unconsciously imitated the woman by shaking her own head as she explained.

_"I don't know why Yuffie made a first generation …Change…I have had to inject a couple of Titan's victims….they either died from their injuries or …." _those pale eyes shifted nervously towards the Vet, and Vincent did not translate the rest. _"I had to euthanize them when they made a second generation Change." _

Not having heard the second disturbing part of this, the Vet nodded her agreement.

"I agree with Ice on this….first law of medicine is…Do no harm."

Vincent just about choked as he stifled his response to this. He could not BELIEVE that this…person…could still be that naïve. Ice just stared at the woman in astonishment.

Oblivious to their shocked disbelief, the Vet continued,

"Second rule… If something is working, you certainly don't fuck with it. If Ice has done this before with no ill effects…it should cause no problems for her now."

Valentine was flooded with the angry tension of his demons. This, on top of his own distress, had his hand unconsciously dropping to toy with the big gun on his hip. When he cleared his throat before speaking, it sounded more like a growl.

"Ice was not pregnant when she did this…before. I want your PERSONAL guarantee that this will cause no harm to her or her kits."

Ice's pale eyes flew wide, as one long fingered hand dropped to stroke her flat belly…it was evident that the Were had not considered this. At her very evident distress, Chaos came rumbling up, and Vincent hissed, leaning heavily on the Doctor's desk as he waged a short but savage fight with the Ancient Being for control.

* * *

Marion swore softly under her breath as she watched the man struggle for control. The woman wasn't sure why Ice being pregnant would upset him so badly or worse, why this fact had set the demon he hosted off. But she instinctively knew enough to not touch him as he fought his internal battle. Ice's expressive hands fluttered but without Valentine translating, the Doctor had no idea what the creature was saying. The Vet quickly added a couple of things to the kit she was gathering together then she moved to where she could catch and hold that flickering gold and crimson gaze.

"I….we haven't been properly introduced, and I have no problem admitting that you scare the living shit out of me. I CAN assure you that I am good at my job and will be monitoring Ice every minute. If her vitals even so much as dip… we will stop….I will be damned sure no harm is done."

The woman had to swallow her frozen heart back down when those strangely beautiful eyes flashed to hot gold and the voice that hissed out of Vincent's mouth was the one that belonged to the bat winged fucker from hell.

"YOU ARE FOREWARNED WOMAN, I…CHAOS… HAVE BOUND YOUR LIFE TO YOUR PROMISE. THE GALIAN BEAST AND I WILL HOLD YOU TO YOUR WORD IN THIS!"

Marion choked… as her heart wiggled its way back up into her mouth. She almost snickered hysterically when she wondered what the demon would do if a she just spat it out and handed it to him. Probably eat it while she watched… was what her scared silly mind told her. Somehow she managed to hold that frightening, intense gaze as she slowly nodded her understanding of the threat. Holy mother of FUCKING Gia….what the HELL had she gotten herself into and who in the HELL was the Galian beast?

Vincent blinked and the gold faded as he sagged a little. The part of Marion that had made her enter the field of medicine urged her to help and support him…the woman ruthlessly squelched it! She backed up as the man seemed to gain back his equilibrium. She somehow managed a calming smile as she stared into his solemn, beautiful face. The gunman winced a little as he caught the residue of fear still in her gaze.

His deep voice was layered with surprise and…oddly…concern.

"Do you understand what you have done? THEY will hold you to your promise." The man hesitated here as if weighing his words. "Sometimes what my…guests…. say is not exactly what they mean and if you fail in any part of your bargain… I will NOT be able to intervene to save you."

GREAT …Marion nodded and then swallowed, trying to moisten her dry mouth.

"Listen…I know that …ALL…of you are uncomfortable here, there is no reason that this procedure can't be done somewhere more to Ice's liking."

Both of them glanced at the golden female. She had sat back on her rump, toes folded over each other, tail coiled tight around them and her hands were folded tight against her chest.

"Hnnnn….."Vincent offered the Were his hand…. "How about Yuffie's room?"

Ice nodded and jumped up to practically scamper out of the lab.

As Marion scooped up her bag to follow, she was stopped by a cold, gleaming claw placed carefully on her shoulder.

"Doctor….when you get back from Rocket Town this evening… we need to meet. It has been brought to my …ah…attention that you have been woefully under informed as to what you have signed on for."

The woman did not see Vincent's small, surprised smile when she snorted and walked on past him.

"NO…..Ya think!?"

* * *

Yuffie casually gathered up a few items of clothing and stuffed them into the pouches on her battle harness. She had been working on a plan every since Ice had come back to her room with the woman Doctor and Vincent in tow. One glance had convinced the ninja that Valentine was wound so tight it was a wonder he didn't blow a cork and leak demons all over the room. She had watched (grossness) and waited as Dr. Becket collected what seemed to her trained eye, to be an awfully large amount of blood from Ice. The Doctor seemed to agree because all during and after the "donation" the woman hovered around Ice as if her life depended on the now sleeping Were's every breath. When the procedure was finished and Marion was satisfied that Ice was safe, albeit very sleepy, the woman had slipped out to take the crimson liquid down to the medical bay for processing.

Cid's gruff voice came over the intercom letting everyone know that they would be arriving in Rocket Town in a little over an hour and every body had better have their asses ready to depart the minute they landed. Yuffie grinned as she slyly eyed the brooding gunman. Um hum… that gave her just enough time to bring her campaign, to get Vinny to relax before they left, to conclusion. She giggled silently, yawned and stretched.

"Heey, Vincent, lets go out on deck and get some air."

When the man just shook his head… she whined and twisted her tail into an unhappy knot.

"Awww come on Vince…. I've never gotten to enjoy the view there, I'm usually airsick….come on…PLLEEAASSEE!"

Yuffie held her breath as the ex-Turk studied Ice for a moment then looked thoughtfully her way. That lovely dark head dipped and the ninja suppressed a grin of triumph as the man rose to join her.

YES!…operation…GET VINCENT LAID…had commenced!

* * *

Vincent followed silently behind Yuffie's striped form. He really didn't feel like going out on to one of the airships outside observation decks but he could not deny that the ninja had never had the experience of being out in the open while the great craft was flying. Yuffie was usually holed up somewhere, miserably dealing with her extreme motion sickness. At least her beast form did not suffer from THAT particular curse and the young woman practically skipped through the busy corridors. Valentine's passage was as swift but less…enthusiastic. The ex-Turk had spent many hours enjoying the night sky and solitude that the open air decks offered, especially the couple of smaller, out of the way ones that he had discovered on his night ramblings. He NEVER went out on them during the day. The gunslinger felt that he had been made into a creature of the night, a lover of shadows. Even before the changes wrought by Hojo he had been more inclined to enjoy the quiet night with its mistress, the secretive and lovely moon. Now he abhorred the full exposure of the sun beaming down on his scarred form, revealing all that he was to prying, judging eyes. The thought of being exposed without the comforting concealment of his cloak had anxiety coiling in the pit of his stomach like a cold slithering serpent.

Speaking of serpent's….Vincent almost missed a step as a warm, strong tail coiled up one leg until the tip settled in front, ticking back and forth, softly brushing across…

The man caught his balance…

"YUFFIE..!"

One elegant ear flipped back and he caught the gleam of sly honey as the vixen slowly dragged that tail up and over his crotch.

"OOPS!"

The Changed woman gaped over her shoulder at him, showing all of her teeth in what he was sure SHE thought was an innocent grin.

"I haven't quite got the hang of handling this tail. Sometimes it has a mind of it's own."

Vincent's only comment was a dry.. "Hnnn…" As one cynical, elegant brow arched up

The other followed in shock when that striped length, as if to prove her point, flowed like a living thing, the prehensile tip slipping behind to stroke it's way along his buttocks. It finally hooked it's way through his gun belt so it could gently tug on his waist.

"This way Vinny….I don't want to go out on a PUBLIC deck. Cid told me there is a nice little private place around here somewhere.. Hmmm…now did he say left or right?"

Yuffie had stopped and risen to her full height. It gave the gunman an unimpeded view of surprisingly broad shoulders, and firm back muscles sliding under that rich cocoa mane. The man had a sudden desire to reach out and stoke down that silken chocolate until he reached where it ended in a point right above the thick base of that naughty tail.

"AH…YOU GO WARRIOR CHILD…..UM HUM…SWING THAT THING!"

Lust deepened and layered Chaos's dark rumble as that mane blatantly pointed to Yuffie's tight, chocolate and silver rump, which rolled seductively in each direction as she mentioned it.

Valentine didn't even think, he just instinctively growled right back.

"MINE!"

He felt the Demon Lord chuckle, as the Ancient Being settled back to just watching.

* * *

"Mother fucking son of a cock sucker…"

The crew members scattered around the airship's shop flinched but studiously ignored their Captain as he told the complicated piece of equipment he was working on…off. Cid had torn the small engine apart to replace a broken rod, something that had to be done on a regular basis, and as always, it was being a bitch to get back together. As the tension spring that he was holding in order to attach the new part "spronged" for the umpteenth time, the man started to cut loose again only to choke it off with a startled almost squeak as a white hand shot over his shoulder, catching the little spring before it could lose itself AGAIN on the floor.

Highwind spun around and thumped into Whisper's broad, hard chest. The Albino Were was standing right behind him, head cocked, as he watched the Sky Captain's efforts with interest.

"Holy Mother of Gia….You shouldn't fricken sneak up on my ass like that. If I had my shitten spear, I might have accidentally run your big, fucking, monkey butt through!"

Cid had almost swallowed his cigarette…and he glared around at select people in the area who had NOT warned him that a Killer monkey had snuck up on his ass! Those persons of interest hastily departed the area, so the man turned his glare back to the creature behind…..Well SHIT!

Just that quickly Whisper had slipped around him, blood colored eyes narrowing as he fingered some of the parts on the table.

"It would be easier to put this together if you put that part here and this there before you try and set the spring."

Cid's eye's bugged a little as he swatted at the male's big hands…

"HEY…that's a damned sensitive piece of fricken equipment…keep your shitten hands to yourself." The man's rough voice dropped to a mutter.. "Sides… what would a fuckin monkey know about mechanics, its not like yer a shitten engineer."

Whisper smiled….showing ALL of his teeth…

"This…ah….fucking monkey… can put together anything mechanical that he see's taken apart."

Cid's blonde brows drew down.

"Ya mean to tell me that you were fucking standing behind my ass the whole time I was disassembling that?…. SHIT!"

Several more tech's vacated the area.

Then …what the Were had really said penetrated and the Captain snorted.

"Yeah…. RIGHT… fucking prove it!"

Whisper shrugged and Changed to beast form. Startled more than he cared to admit…Cid stepped back as the Were hopped onto the sturdy table and sat back on his rump. For a second the male just sat and studied the parts spread around him and then his hands and feet just FLEW. It took him almost ten minutes to do what would have taken Cid at least half an hour IF he could get that damned spring to cooperate. Hell…most of the time the beast didn't even need TOOLS such was the strength contained in those blunt fingers and toes. Highwind slowly withdrew his smoke and ran his hand through his hair….forgetting about the grease….as Whisper rather smugly used a foot to push the rebuilt engine his way.

"Well…. I'll be damned…"

Cid didn't need to inspect the machine to know that Whisper had it together right. He gave the beast a stunned look.

"Can ya take it apart and do that again.?"

The man was so amazed that he forgot half his swear words.

Whisper nodded….

"SON of a BITCH!" This was almost whispered as the male took the engine apart and put it back together in less than twenty minutes. "HELL…fucking pickle me and boil me in owl shit…that's fucking ama…."

"Amazing…YO…"

Reno slipped up beside the stunned and more than envious Captain.

"He can do the same thing with firearms…me and Rude… we're going to make some money offa Valentine…you want in on the action?"

Intelligent blue eyes raked the Turk, than narrowed as Cid thought about how complicated the mechanism was in Vincent's unique cannon, Cerberus. He switched the cig to the other side of his mouth and grinned…the gunman was a good friend but this would be worth seeing..

"Yer DAMN shootin I want in!"

The Turk matched his grin and nodded at Whisper who watched them in total innocence.

"Yo…Whisper…ya need to go get ready to head to town. I put some clothes for you out on the bed."

The big male froze, his ears flattened and that snowy, grease streaked mane sucked in…as his crimson eyes got huge.. Reno looked behind himself, worried that something NASTY had snuck in on them.

"WHAT?"

Whisper drew his hands up, his tail tightened around his feet and his toes folded over each other.

"REALLY? I get to go?"

This was spoken so quietly that Reno and Cid had to lean forwards to hear it.

The red head blinked.

"Can ya keep yourself in almost human form….no matter what?"

That awesome wedge shaped head slowly nodded. The Turk shrugged.

"Then sure…you get to go."

"I get to go?"

Again this was so quietly spoken that the two men leaned a little closer so they could hear. Both men levitated three foot into the air as the shop walls shuddered when the Were let loose with a BOOM. He boomed again as he launched himself off of the table, sailed over the swearing Captain's head and landed, all four limbs scrambling as he tried to find purchase on the smooth floor.

"I get to go….SHOPPING!"

Cid had both hands over his ears as this last word was BOOMED out.

It was a wonder that the Were heard the sky Captain as his voice cracked out.

"FUCKING stop!"

Whisper put on the brakes and slid to a stop. He whirled around, ears and mane flattening as his expressive face took on a crestfallen look.

Highwind's lips twisted up as he threw the Were a towel,

"Oh HELL…stop looking like I just ate your fucking puppy! Jest wipe off yer shitten feet, yer tracking fricken grease all over the damned floor!"

The Were gave a sheepish grin…took a second to wipe all of the black from his hands and from between each toe, then he padded back up to the man. The beast prodded the engine with a finger, and looked shyly at Cid from underneath his pale eyelids.

"You know Captain…if you made a part to bridge this with that…you could eliminate the rod that keeps breaking."

The pilot reached out and traced a finger over what the male was pointing out…

"Well HELL…why didn't I see that?"

The Were gave him a sweet, closed lipped smile, then spun and shot out the door. Both men snickered as panicked shrieks could be heard from the hallway as Whisper streaked through.

Reno sighed and turned to follow that white blur.

"Yo, I'd better go and make sure he hasn't scared anyone to death."

Cid scratched the back of his head.

"Hey Turk…." The red head stopped and cocked his head. "Do ya think I could fucking…borrow…him every now and then?"

Reno waggled his red eyebrows before he strode out of the room…

"Sure… if I ain't using him at the time."

* * *

Yuffie made sure she was a little ahead of Vincent when they arrived at the door leading out to the deck. The man already seemed just a little flustered so it was easy for her to distract him by craning her head around and exclaiming.

"HEY isn't that Cloud…Weren't you looking for him?"

As the gunman's head jerked around she whipped out her hypo, injected herself and had the thing put away before he turned back with a question in his crimson eyes.

The Changeling shrugged innocently and sighed.

"Aww…I guess that wasn't him…sorry."

The woman smiled and silently prayed that Cid had been right when he suggested that a bout of hot sex would take you mind off of motion sickness.

The ninja ambled over to the railing and reared up so she could brace her forearms on the top rail. For a moment she just stared. The girl had not been kidding when she said she never got to enjoy these places and she HAD been missing out. Deep blue sky above and patchwork green below filled her rapt gaze. The wind of their passage caressed her face and lifted her mane in its wake.

"Wow….!" this she quietly whispered as she felt Vincent move silently up beside her. The woman caught a flash of red as she snuggled up against his side. The first flush of Change crawled over her skin, and she hissed through her teeth. Vincent looked down again and swore as he shifted until he had her body pressed between his and the rail. Yuffie took deep breaths and concentrated on allowing her body to make its adjustments rather than fighting the pain. Very quickly it was all over and she found herself being held by Vincent so there was no danger of her falling over the railing. The gunslinger had both arms wrapped around her ribcage and she could feel the beating of his heart through the thin black shirt that he wore. Her bottom was tucked against his pelvis and she smiled slyly as she rocked that now tailless thing against him. Vincent sucked in a breath and practically SPRANG backwards.

"Yuffie….your…"

The girl straightened slowly and snickered…

"Naked?"

Yuffie stretched up and turned her back from one beautiful view to take in another, that of the tall, dark Valentine frozen as his crimson eyes took in her body. Um Hum…Yuffie decided then and there that when she got that damned cloak away from Ice, the ratty thing was vanishing. No body EVER got to see the demon ridden ex-Turk exposed to the sun like this. Daylight stroked ruby fire under the elegantly arched black brows This served to only accentuated the pale porcelain perfection of his face. Vincent's midnight tresses, which were unbound for once, rode the breeze, shifting around his head and shoulders like they were alive. The man's gloved hand rested on the butt of Cerberus where the big gun rode on his slender hip, as if he felt…threatened… and that gleaming gold gauntlet was half extended towards her as if to ward her away. For a sinking moment the girl wondered if she had misinterpreted their first night together, maybe Vincent had considered THAT a one time, spur of the moment fling. Then…the ninja saw a fleeting glimmer of hot gold flicker in the garnet (note to self…give Chaos a big whopping kiss of thanks next time you see him) and the gunman growled softly, pale lips pulling down into a sultry pout. In one stride he covered the distance between them. The man's powerful arms lifted her petite frame and she found herself with her back against the wall, a hand on either side of her face, trapping her as Vincent glowered down, his mouth just inches above hers. Yuffie lifted her leg running her knee up the inside of one long, leather clad leg and her thigh pressed up, drawing a soft groan from that sweet mouth… as she gave the gunslinger a serious stare…

"And your not…naked…Why is that?"

Vincent made a soft humming noise under his breath and brought his hand to his mouth. Yuffie watched, entranced, as those silken lips parted and even white teeth caught the tip of one finger, bit down and slowly drew the glove off. Slender, strong fingers then turned as he gently stroked the backs of them down her cheek until a knuckle rested under her chin, lifting her head so that those wonderful lips could settle over hers. The kiss was gentle and sweet….but…Yuffie was in the mood for something a little more….invigorating… so she carefully drew Vincent's tongue into her mouth, sucked on it lightly then closed her teeth down. Valentine wasn't the only one with pearly whites. Crimson ignited as the gunslinger snarled into her mouth, both hand dropping to cup her bottom. Yuffie was lifted until the man could press his body against hers as his kiss went from soft, to hungry and demanding.

* * *

Vincent should have known something was up when Yuffie had him looking for Cloud. But he was busy trying to quell his body's reaction to the sensual touch of that….tail… when he stepped out onto the deck. He stopped to let his eyes adjust to the brilliant sunlight and to study that velveteen body as the young woman stood up to lean her arms on the top rail. The gunman would have willingly sworn that she was swaying that delectable rump just to turn him on! But…why would she be doing that? He was operating under no illusion. The ex-Turk knew that the experience in Deepground had happened because Yuffie was in heat. There was NO way that the lovely young woman could be sexually attracted to someone as physically scarred, emotionally screwed up, and just flat dangerous as he was. Besides… he was an old man compared to her!

The ninja's delighted reaction to the view was unfeigned and his suspicious mind was starting to relax when her soft hiss jerked his attention off of the brilliant sky down to her… CRAP… Changing form. Moving before he even realized it, Vincent caught Yuffie as her legs gave out. He held the young ninja up and balanced her body against the rail until her bones and muscles stopped shifting under his hands. They just stood for a moment, the man patiently supporting the woman until she could catch her breath. At least, that is, until Valentine realized that Yuffie was rocking her ass hard against his already enthusiastic crotch. Then the fact hit him that the soft form he was holding was almost totally….

"NAKED….OH YEAH!"

Chaos crowed this at the same time as Yuffie.

Vincent sprang back as if he had been burned, only to freeze as the ninja turned, leaned back against the rail and stretched, arching her back so that every lithe muscle in her trim frame rolled under satin skin. The battle harness that she wore hid nothing from appreciative eyes. It only served to accentuated the womanly curves that hadn't been there when the two had first met. Her soft brown eyes still held swirling streaks of honey as she studied him with lids at half mast. The ex-Turk just wanted to run and hide. He knew that the sun, which stroked her breasts, making them blush, and which made the soft curls at the V her legs glimmer with soft highlights, would deal with him much more harshly. He could not imagine how creepy his scarlet eyes and white skin looked or how his repulsive metal claw stood out with the bright light making it practically glow. The gunman desperately wished that he had snatched his cloak from the sleeping Ice before they had come out here.

Chaos rumbled to life…

"AH HELL VALENTINE…YOU UNDER ESTIMATE THIS ONE EVERY TIME….I THINK YOU COULD TURN GREY, GROW FANGS, AND SPROUT WINGS AND THAT DELECTABLE CHILD WOULD STILL WANT YOU…. UMM…. WOULD YOU LIKE TO…YOU KNOW…. TURN GREY AND SPROUT WINGS…?

"I… don't… think… so!"

Valentine growled softly as he pushed the demon back. They had a deal and it stated that Yuffie was HIS!

The little minx had PLANNED this. It took the man one stride and he had her pinned with her back against the wall. WELL…she had started it so HE was going to damn well fini…ungh…a firm leg traveled up between his thighs and pressed hard into a place that was already uncomfortably tight.

Naked?…why wasn't he naked?…in the sunlight? Maybe she would believe it if he told her he had a sun sensitive…..

"OH MY GODS….HOST…. IF YOU DON'T STOP, I SWEAR BY ALL THAT IS HOLY… YOU…WILL..SPROUT…WINGS…RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

Fine….Vincent caught the tip his glove between his teeth and slid it off. There…. he had a naked hand…Maybe that would keep Yuffie and his overbearing demon HAPPY? Before the girl could complain, he covered her lips with his, only to have the little temptress coax his tongue into her lovely mouth then bite down... hard. Valentine snarled and thing's in the tight department got explosive when Yuffie drank it down before it could escape. Pain flashed to pleasure and his hands closed on her hot ass to lift and pull that exquisite heat up close.

Vincent forgot about being gentle, his teeth and tongue demanded that she open for him, when she did so willingly he sampled as much of that captured treasure as he could reach. Releasing her mouth, his hot, firm lips traveled along that deceptively delicate jaw line, nipping and nuzzling. A soft moan escaped the woman's mouth and she wrapped one leg around his waist. Both of her hands, which had twined themselves into his hair, fisted, tugged, and then slid down over his chest and stomach. With a couple of tugs the ninja unbuckled, then dropped his holster. The other leg closed around his hips and the naked heat of HER ground against the still leather covered length that was straining to be released. His busy mouth stilled for a moment, teeth lightly scraping at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Valentine didn't even try to stifle his growl when those nimble fingers unclasped then slid into his pants, working to free him.

Vincent's teeth tightened on her skin as Yuffie unbuttoned his shirt but he did not protest when she opened it and pushed the silky material over and off of his shoulders, sliding it as far down his arms as she could. The woman gave a little push causing him to step back a little. Suddenly apprehensive he looked up…and held himself very still as she cocked her head… rich, brown eyes holding the crimson. Never breaking that contact, and somehow conveying that she was SEEING and accepting ALL that he was… Yuffie raised up and slowly sheathed him in hot, velvet steel. Using those incredible legs to hold her weight, the ninja leaned back into the wall. Vincent found that he could release her bottom and he slid his hands up so that they settled on her slender waist. The gunman slowly lifted her hips to ride up only to have her brace herself and push herself back down. The girl hummed softly and Valentine had to clamp down with ALL of his considerable will power as they waged a subtle battle for dominance. He would slide her up and Yuffie would narrow those honey glazed eyes and push herself back down. This could not stay a stalemate for long though and when Vincent felt her thigh muscles starting to tremble, he added a sharp thrust up as she pushed down. Yuffie moaned, pulled herself up and drove back down as she arched her back. This put those exquisite small breasts in just the right place for the gunman to drop his head and trap a nipple between gentle teeth. He let Yuffie set the rhythm as he nibbled, suckled and licked. Strong hands twined through his hair as his mouth traveled over sensitive flesh. When that hum changed to a soft keen and her rhythm became erratic, Vincent steadied her hips and thrust hard, driving himself as deeply into her as he could. Yuffie shuddered and his name flowed from her lips over and over again as she rode him through her climax. It was all he could do to make sure she had wrung every bit of pleasure she could out of him before her soft throaty moans and the totally sated look that settled on her face pulled him over the edge. As he pulsed into her the ex-Turk gave into the sudden need to dominate, to claim, to mark her as his and his alone. He set his teeth over her collarbone and her snarl of pleasure/pain only made his release that much sweeter.

For an endless moment they stayed locked together as the sun traced warm fingers over their flushed skin, and the soft breeze stroked through their hair, intermingling the chocolate with the raven. Vincent rested his forehead in the hollow of Yuffie's throat and the woman's strong fingers traced gently over the scars that spider webbed across his naked back. The man felt the vibration of a small chuckle against his skin and he looked into her smiling face, one eyebrow raised in question. Yuffie ran her fingers through his hair pulling it forwards to hide both of their faces as if it were a satiny cape. Her beautiful eyes twinkled with mischief .

"Highwind was right….it DOES take you mind off of the motion sickness!"

* * *

will try to get a few more up tomorrow!


	20. Chapter 20

Screwed up my arm and am using the hunt and peck technique for typing...bear with me! This is a not for profit fan fiction. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story line.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 20

Griffin slowly wiped the bar down as he watched a patron approach. This small group was quieter than the bunch of Shinra Techs who had descended on the town to "Refurbish" the old Shinra mansion. But new people were always noticed in a town as small as Neibelhiem, (especially with this town's "odd" history,) and the barman was sure that he had seen NONE of these people before. The quiet man took the stranger's order, noting that fellow said nothing more than what he had to.

As he drew beer from the tap the bartender casually commented,

"Hmmm, haven't seen you people in town before?"

Sharp eyes noticed without being obvious, the odd furtive glance that rolled in his direction.

"Yeah…. we are doing some surveying up in the forest, got tired of just each other for company."

The barman had to give the guy credit, he hadn't missed a beat with his explanation…and it was a feasible reason for being out in the mountains.

"Hey this is a lot of beer….go ahead and sit… I'll bring them out to you."

Gathering the drinks together on a tray, he followed the man back to his table. As he served the group he pried a little.

"So you guys had any problems with…THINGS….out there in the wilds?"

His family had survived the town's past problems, most particularly the last massacre, by being well informed, and as a bar owner he had since then learned to be more than competent at ferrying out problems that might have consequences… before they occurred.

One of the men…a rather burly, rough looking character sipped his beer and sighed in contentment.

"NAW…we got enough trained back up that most THINGS are leaving us alone. HELL… we haven't even seen any of your vaunted mountain wolves this trip."

Griffon smiled at the man and nodded.

"Well, that is a GOOD thing, isn't it?"

This drew some soft chuckles from the men.

As he settled himself back behind the bar, the man's gaze wandered back to the group's table. Yes…. a couple of the men there had that certain stamp to their features that screamed…SOLDIER. Most of the Shinra army that still survived had turned to being mercenaries. If these were of that ilk, there could be trouble coming. Griffon's dark brow furrowed a little. He would have to let the family Patriarch know that something was up. It could not be coincidence that Rufus Shinra had kindled a sudden interest in the old Mansion AND that these strangers were suddenly…surveying… in the surrounding forests. Another reason this family had survived so long here was that they didn't get INVOLVED in town problems. When they saw trouble coming, they got the hell out. The family could always return at a later date (as they had done MANY times in the past) and put another one of the males of the line in charge of the bar. They had run this place for generations and the good "townsfolk" (especially the ones who came in to rebuild after the fire) had no clue that the man behind the bar could trace his lineage to BEFORE there were permanent settlers here.

* * *

Bernard Duprey watched the slender, dark barman from over the rim of his glass. Bartenders were notorious gossips, but the one who owned this place was known for his…discretion. As the man went back to polishing glasses with no more than an occasional glance their way, as if to check drink levels, the scientist relaxed. He had been roughing it with these idiot engineers and mercenaries for three days, every since Angel had called and hired him to bring the old cave research labs back online. Deepground had been building the compound as a back up in case things under Midgar went South. Of course NOBODY had expected things to go as badly as they did. Valentine's incredible feat of gaining control of the mighty demon Chaos had spelled the end of their organization. BUT…as Angel knew well…there were still factions abroad looking for a way to step in and take over where the omnipotent Shinra had failed. If her theories were proven correct, and she succeeded where Hojo had failed with Project C…well their fortunes were made.

Still, Duprey was a man with certain… base… needs. Those were NOT getting satisfied holed up in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of security roughnecks and computer programming geeks, hence this short, careful trip into town. Bernard was in charge until Angelique decided to make her move. Everyone who accompanied the scientist was hand picked, each with enough baggage that their silence was guaranteed. Now that compound was marginally operational, he could indulge himself and his hired help a little. As soon as the Labs had some…Specimens…unhappily inhabiting the holding cells…they would have their pick of nightly entertainment. Angel wasn't the type that would look the other way.. Oh No! If that twisted woman was not directly participating in the fun, well…she was ever eager to watch.

Bernard finished the last of his beer and held it up so that the barman would bring another. As he admired Griffon's smooth, efficient moves and the almost silent, graceful way he walked across the floor…the scientist couldn't help but wonder if the man maybe had a sister. Titan was already on site at the Cave labs, and Angel had told him that the huge male had a taste for human females. It would be an exquisite experiment to break a bitch, and then see if she was still able to scream while the Were used her. UmmHumm! He so remembered the little…example… that they had made of Shadow's fuck buddy….HELL, Hojo and Angel had let him sample that little treat (and he wasn't the only one…no sirree!) before they had turned the Troop males loose on her. Oh YES…he could see some REAL fun to be had in the time to come.

* * *

Marion was just finishing up packing some of Ice's blood as a sample to be shipped to Angel, when a white blur went shooting past her open door. As she looked up in curiosity, Reno stuck his head in.

"Yo…is Ice going to be up to going shopping?"

Dr. Becket just stared at the man. She had just been planning on hitting the grocery store and the thrift shops, then putting her meager sewing skills to use figuring out how to tailor what they bought to fit the two with tails.

" Ummm…the Were's are going to accompany us?"

The red head grinned,

"Sure they're coming, can't really have their clothes fitted unless they are there."

"…Fitted…?"

Damn it…. Marion knew that she was a bright, intelligent young woman, but these people seemed to have the ability to totally obliterate any brain cell she tried to bring into play.

Reno yelped and disappeared out of the doorway. She heard him as he followed Whisper down the hallway,

"YO…Rude…geez, ya didn't have to be so…you know…RUDE!"

Marion just stared, wide eyed, as the other, quiet Turk slipped into the room. It was amazing that someone who was so…reserved…was paired with the hyperactive, very flamboyant red head. Of course, when Reno was around, one had a tendency to flat forget about the other half of the team. Maybe this is what they intended. Rude pulled his wallet out of his inside jacket pocket. The man's lips quirked up as he slipped a plastic card across her desk.

"The fact that my…partner….failed to mention, is this. One of the perks of being owned by Shinra…." A long, dark finger tapped said card. "Rufus gets to pick up the tab."

The Doctor made a small…ohhhh…with her mouth. Then she met the man's ey…ah…shades with a firm look.

"Will they behave themselves?"

Rude snorted softly,

"The Were's? Man…I would be willing to wager gil that THEY will be on their best behavior. Reno on the other hand…"

The man shrugged then turned his wrist and checked the time on the understated, but very expensive watch adorning it.

"Better get a move on…Highwind can get…GRUMPY…if he is kept waiting."

It took the young woman a half hour to get herself and then Ice ready to go. Most of this time was spent trying to get Vincent's crimson cloak away from the female. It seemed that with being pulled out of her familiar environment, the golden Were's damaged mind was having a hard time adjusting and she had latched onto the ragged thing as a sort of security blanket. It finally took Yuffie (the young woman and the gunman had shown up both slightly flushed and suspiciously disheveled… note to self, find out if the Changeling was on any type of birth control.) bribing Ice with the promise of a fruit smoothie in town before the female reluctantly gave it up in exchange for one of Vincent's black shirts. Marion had to suppress a grin when the ninja snatched the cloak away as Valentine was reaching for it. The slight spasm that crossed the man's usually stoic face make it clear that Ice wasn't the only one with an unhealthy attachment to the thing.

* * *

Cloud surreptitiously stretched as he waited at the hatch for the rest of the town party to arrive. He saw, but chose to ignore, Cid's knowing look and subsequent smirk. It was bad enough that his ribcage felt like a flock of Chocobos had tab danced on it all night. NO… he had also lost a large amount of gil to the sky Captain. The ex-SOLDIER didn't know how the seemingly shallow pilot had learned to read people so well. Cloud had been confident that he knew the gunman better than Highwind and he had discounted the older man's dire warnings about taking his life in his hands. The swordsman had figured that Vincent would not be happy with the mansion plan, but since Deepground, the taciturn man had always been in complete control of himself and his demons. His violent response had caught the blonde flatfooted and truth be told, scared the living shit out of him. Still, at least Cid had cast a Cure on him, healing up the deep punctures that had been torn into his shoulder. It was bad enough having Valentine pissed off at him. (he had heard that the man was looking for him this morning) He did not need an angry Chaos after his ass too!

Cid straightened up and stubbed out his cigarette, cerulean eyes narrowing as Whisper and Ice stepped out into the bright autumn sunlight. The female was dressed simply in loose black pants and one of Vincent's long sleeved black shirts. Reno had a hand in dressing the Albino… he was in a pair of dark grey parachute pants that rode low on his slender hips and were a little to short for his height, plus a loose white shirt untucked and with only the last two buttons closed. Neither one of the exotic pair was wearing shoes. Both Were's hesitated, and Cloud had to conceal a smile as twenty toes wiggled around in the grass. It was very evident that this was a first for the sibs, and from the way both sets of eyelids drooped languidly it was a sensation that they both adored.

The swordsman tensed a little as Vincent followed them out and stepped to the side. The black clad gunman glanced his way and those pale lips tightened and turned down at the corners. Cloud saw no anger in the glimmering ruby eyes. Just deep regret and a lot of concern. The swordsman realized that the last memory that Valentine probably had of the night before, was of him shaking yours truly like a rag doll, and trying to pound a hole in the metal wall with his body. He smiled at the demon ridden man and self consciously ran his hands over his spiky hair. He shrugged and gave the ex-Turk a slight nod, trying to relay the fact that he was unharmed. Something in Vincent's face relaxed a little and he turned back to being a silent watcher.

Yuffie and the little Doctor were chattering like magpies when they finally joined them. Reno and Rude sauntered out last. The little group formed up with very little direction…Cloud and Cid automatically taking the lead, the Were's, the ninja and the scientist in the center, and the two Turk's fanning out to their rear. Vincent shifted behind them and seemed to vanish. He had done this before when Avalanche had been in pursuit of Sephiroth. The man was a highly trained sniper. He would pace the group at a distance so that he had a clear view of all who were around them. This would also give him an extended range, if problems arose and the big gun, Cerberus, was brought into play.

* * *

Ice sipped carefully at her smoothie. (Strawberry, banana supreme…her favorite…of course, also her first.) Both Whisper and her were being very careful with the sweet, creamy, ICY concoctions. Their first experience with brain freeze had driven home the fact that you enjoyed these things slowly and did NOT try to pack the melting heaven into your cheek pouches! Even Dr. Beckett had developed a serious case of the giggles at the siblings identical expressions when they had attempted THAT!

The group had made it through town with out problems of any kind. Those that did notice that the two tall strangers weren't entirely human had quickly developed interests elsewhere when they caught site of the Blue Suits trailing the group. Even with the fall of Shinra Corp. it was known that you still did not mess with the Turks. The only trouble occurred when Ice entered into the little boutique that Rude had directed them to. The little place dealt in fashions that only the truly elite could afford. Yuffie flashed a "are you sure about this?" look towards the quiet man. The Turk just flicked a couple of fingers towards the door and with a cat caught in the cream grin, Yuffie led the other females in. As the golden Were entered, there was a squeal and a tall, anorexic looking blonde came rushing towards them.

"No food or drinks allowed…miss.."

The "miss" was accompanied by a haughty…what the hell are you riff raff doing setting foot in here, and do I need to call the law…look as the woman reached for Ice's cup. The Were froze, she was not allowed to bite, but like HELL if this scrawny, delusional, omega BITCH was going to take the best thing she had ever tasted away from her. The Were contented herself with narrowing pale, flashing eyes and slowly lifting her lips around her straw to show all four of her elongated, sharp canines.

Cloud and Highwind ushered Whisper through the door, and the sky Captain grinned.

"WHOA!….I wouldn't fricken do that if you want ta keep yer shitten fingers."

The blond snatched her fingers back and her disdainful look swept over Yuffie, Marion, and Ice, then it went on to totally disregard the two men and stopped to linger on the startled Albino who also tightened his hold on his drink and lifted his lips.

"We don't allow ANIMALS in here either."

The woman's expression said loads about how she wasn't specifying who the said animals were.

The lifted nose and sneering lips froze when Reno entered, followed by Rude. The woman became all gushing sweetness and fluttering eyelashes.

"Oh…Mr. Rude! Let me get rid of the…trash… that just blew in off of the street, and I will be right with you."

Yuffie had been slowly boiling, and at this comment she shot forwards…

"YOU bitch!"

"YO..!" Reno made a well timed grab and snagged the petite ninja as she blew by him. "Darlin…Let the big guy handle it. Believe me… you are gonna love this."

Ice sipped her smoothie and watched with avid interest. This dark male was SO much like her stoic brother Shadow that she was not surprised when his face did not change expression at all. The Were wondered if the foolish female was even aware that the alpha male was livid. When the man quietly spoke, the fury and contempt that were laced into his soft voice made both sibling's flatten their ears.

"Woman…Cid Highwind there is this town's mayor. The "trash" standing next to him has saved the world and indirectly your skinny ass a grand total of three times. The young lady my partner so graciously prevented from doing the rumba on your face is the only heir to the Wuttain throne…PRINCESS Yuffie Kisaragi. And him…" Rude's head tilted to indicate Vincent as the tall man strode through the door…"Well, lets just say he is your WORST nightmare brought to life if you are STUPID enough to piss the man off."

The Turk's full lips thinned to an angry line, and he casually reached up to remove his shades. Hostile dark eyes pinned the girl who was having a hard time pulling her eyes away from the massive gun on Valentine's hip. The gunman, having a good idea of what was going on, gave the twit an evil, bloody glare (much to Chaos's delight) and casually ran his hand over Cerberus's lethal, holstered form whilst flaring the OTHER deadly hand into a threatening claw. Rude had to squelch the desire to grin as the girl squeaked and looked like she was going to faint.

"Now …you will TAKE your skinny butt out of my sight and tell your boss that… one, Rufus Shinra is looking to make some purchases for Ice…who by the way… has more CLASS in the tip of her tail then YOU will ever have, and two… because of your tragic lack of TASTE… you are REQUESTING that you be allowed to join the ranks of the unemployed. You tell her that she had better be in front of me in two minutes flat or I am going to turn Reno loose in here!"

There was a loud slurping sound as Ice got to the bottom of her drink. Arctic blue eyes sadly peeked into the cup then blinked at the skinny bitch…. Damn… she had run out…and the show was just starting to get good. The woman's mouth opened and closed like a warking chocobo, then she gave the Were a horrified look and took off for the back of the store.

It took the matron of the store a grand total of sixty seven seconds to appear in front of Rude.

The older woman pursed her lips together and growled at the Turk…

"What the HELL gives you the right to harass my hired help.?"

Ice held her breath as Rude glowered at the old lady…swept his powerful arms out and gathered the giggling old hen into a hug.

Reno released an astounded Yuffie as the women was passed from Rude over to him. The redhead waggled his eyebrows and planted a kiss smack on the old girl's mouth.

"Yo…Betty… you are getting better looking every time we come in."

This got the man a smack upside the head. Grinning, Reno half heartedly ducked and turned the woman so she could see Ice.

"Ice here needs your expertise in picking out a wardrobe…do ya think your up to it?"

The old woman's grey eyes widened a little as she took in the too large, man's pants and shirt that adorned the trim figure of the exotic Were female. Ice met her gaze with frank interest. The Were knew that staring was a threat but she could not help herself. The Troop aged very slowly and she had never seen a being with skin that wrinkled like this woman's did. Without thinking the female reached out and traced a long finger along the crows feet that radiated out from the corner of Betty's eyes. The woman blinked but did not pull away. She did roll her eyes in Rude's direction. The Turk had replaced his shades and all he did was quirk the corner of his mouth in answer to the unspoken question.

Betty snorted.

"Of course I am up to it"

She turned, catching Ice's slim hand. Ignoring the female's slightly panicked look, she tugged her towards the dressing rooms. The matron looked over her shoulder as she left and gave Whisper's toned body an envious glance.

"You had better take long, pale, and handsome there over to Giuseppe's. (lucky asshole!) I'll get your Golden Lady situated."

* * *

After the entertainment at the female's shop, Whisper wasn't sure what to expect when Rude and Reno took him to a different place. The man that came out to serve them did not even blink when he saw the Albino. As a matter of fact… Whisper was pretty sure that the man was looking at him in much the same way that he had looked at the jar of peanut butter earlier that morning. The "Tailor" had a long conversation with the Turks, then he came over and started ordering the Albino to stand here, shift there, lift this, all the while measuring him with a piece of string. The Tailor did hesitate when he came to Whisper's, long, nervously twitching tail. The Were had to clamp down on his natural arching reflex when the man's small hand encircled the thick base, stimulating the sensitive nerves there.

It certainly didn't help that the little fellow sucked in an avid breath and whispered,

"WOW, I want one of these!"

Whisper managed to maintain his composure until the little man casually asked him,

"Do you…dress…left or right?

What…? He dressed both his left and his right side, it would defeat the purpose to leave one side naked!

White brows furrowed in confusion as Reno made what sounded suspiciously like a choked off snicker. Rude was absolutely no help. With those glasses on, Whisper had no clue on how to read the dark alpha's placid expression. Before he could say anything, both of his feathery brows skyrocketed straight up and the Were had to remind himself of his promise to Reno to stay in his almost human form. Guiseppe…having gotten impatient, had run his hand across the male's crotch, cupping and weighing the impressive package contained in the ill fitting pants. His sigh was blissful

"AH yes…left it is!"

* * *

Cid was a man that took most things in stride. He was a man's man…comfortable in his skin, at ease whether it be fighting monsters, flying in any conditions, or making love to a woman. BUT…he felt totally out of his league in this damned shop filled with soft fabrics, lace, and wonderfully erotic, silky…. THINGS! HELL…he wasn't even allowed to smoke in here, this in itself was pure torture. The Captain just stayed out of the way and watched as Valentine silently browsed through the shop, picking out items of clothing and handing them to a sales girl to take back to the fitting rooms. Yuffie was also making choices but MOST of what the ninja picked out, the quiet man would covertly confiscate and replace it with something more… tasteful. At least this was the case until the little thief realized what the gunman was doing, then a short argument ensued about differences in taste…and a certain crimson cloak was brought up. Highwind stifled a quick chuckle when Vincent backed off, and Marion stepped in to take his place.

Although… the pilot had to admit that the little Vet was more tactful about what she was doing, pointing out that something that TIGHT would be difficult for the female Were to "Change" in when she was no longer pregnant,…or…maybe THAT particular shade of neon green would clash with Ice's mane. The Doctor and Yuffie soon vanished back into the fitting rooms after their last few choices.

With fewer people to catch him out of his element, Cid felt comfortable enough to leave his wall and casually check out some of the items that had caught his eye. One particular outfit he thought he could see Ice pulling off. The man was covertly fingering the soft material when Valentine appeared like a silent shadow at his elbow. The gunslinger studied the outfit for a minute than plucked it out of the slightly embarrassed Captain's hands. One elegant eyebrow arched up, and without a word Vincent disappeared into the back, taking the clothing with him. DAMN…Cid put both of his hands in his pockets…he had gotten a glimpse of the small fortune required to OWN that sweet piece of fashion…he did NOT want to be responsible for attiring the Were in something that exceeded some of the items on Rocket Town's yearly budget! Valentine reappeared after a moment, but the gunman's attention was elsewhere so Cid strolled oh so casually to the slightly erotic section.

The pilot was eyeing some of the pretty lacy THINGS there and thinking that maybe there would be something sweet here that Shera would appreciate (he knew HE would certainly appreciate some of the dainties!) when a surprised "hnnnn…" from the usually stoic Valentine jerked Cid's attention up. Ice had stepped out of the dressing rooms into the shop proper, there she stopped, her wide eyed expression one of shy uncertainty. Betty, it seemed, HAD been… "up to the task!" She had made some quick alterations to accommodate the Were's long tail and dressed Ice in the outfit that had attracted Highwind. This consisted of a pair of loose pants made out of an almost sheer material that was an exact match for the pale silver/blue of arctic ice. There was a heavier panel of slightly darker fabric that rode low and laced at the sides to snug around the female's slender hips. The cuffs were gathered at mid calf and a wide strip of the same material was laced tight all the way down to her shapely ankles. Soft flat shoes of the same color graced Ice's usually bare feet. The low way in which the pants rode those shapely hips exposed a truly lovely waist. It took some serious effort for the sky Captain to get his eyes to travel up past the exposed, silky, flat, golden belly (complete with a sweet… there for everyone to see… navel) The soft top was made of the same almost see through material. It was loose and flowing over the shoulders and bust line and laced tight once the soft material got to each long forearm, all the way to Ice's elegant wrists. The back was very open at the top and narrowed to a V. It framed the female's silky mane perfectly. The point of the V ended in the same type of heavier panel that laced at the sides and continued to hug tight around and just under the female's well muscled rib cage. The front dipped slightly across sculpted collarbones then opened up and was split from about an inch below the top, all the way down to this panel, and as the Were moved, it shifted giving one tantalizing, almost glimpses of the soft curves of not just TWO breasts.

"Holy SHIT…"

Cid's usually gruff voice was a soft whisper but it still caused Ice's delicate ears to twitch forwards. One of Betty's girls had worked over that rich cinnamon mane, placing a multitude of tiny braids all through it. As these swayed with the movement of those ears, tiny silver/blue crystal beads and miniscule silver bells that had been braided in…chimed together. It was like listening to the subtle sweet notes of the winter wind singing its way through an ice locked forest.

"HOLY SHIT….INDEED!"

The very deep, gravelly tone of Vincent's voice jerked Highwind's head around…the hot gold of the eyes that flicked his way made it very clear that Chaos had surfaced for a moment.

There was a blink of thick black lashes and crimson shifted back to appraise the female who was rocking from foot to foot…a sure sign of nerves. Valentines pale lips curved up in a rare, true…smile.

"I, for once, am in complete agreement!"

Ice returned the smile with a small, hesitant one of her own and her whole demeanor relaxed as she realized that BOTH of her Alpha's approved.

* * *

Duprey swore as the small group with him RAN. They had picked up supplies and enjoyed a few drinks. Their luck had seemed good when they had run across a pair of young women traveling up the well worn path that led out of the forest. The scientist did not know what had possessed the women to be alone that close to the woods, but he wasn't one to look a gift chocobo in the beak. It had taken the powerful mercenaries that accompanied him only a few seconds to subdue their new "specimens" and with the unconscious girls slung across broad shoulders, they had proceeded towards their rendezvous with the helicopter. By the time the town even realized the girls were missing…they would be long out of the area.

Bernard had been happily running some grisly sexual scenarios involving the big breasted blonde through his, and he would readily admit this, obscene mind when a wolf had let loose with a deep bone chilling howl back towards the town. More disturbing….it was answered by several others who seemed to be in their general vicinity.

SHIT…SHIT! One did NOT want a pack of the huge Neibelhiem wolves on the hunt when you were in their territory! The sound of a gunshot cracked out as one of the ex-SOLDEIR'S got a shot off at a grey form slinking between the trees. The scientist was relieved and more than a little pleased, when the great beast yelped and faded back. Although…it WAS puzzling that the pack was just paralleling them, not engaging in a full out attack.

Nope…. he spoke to soon, there was a scream from the back as one of the men carrying a burden was set upon by a small black bitch. The female sank her teeth in the man's calf and jumped back as a sword split the air where her head had been. She dropped back to become another shadow. There wasn't a sound from the group except for the pounding of feet on the path and the rasping of hard drawn breaths. Duprey breathed a small prayer of thanks as they broke from cover and saw the machine crouched like a giant insect in the center of a clearing. That prayer was choked off, as with a guttural roar, a huge,(even by Neibelhiem standards) sandy colored Alpha male broke from the trees behind them. The huge beast wasn't fast, it wasn't built to be a sprinter. BUT the last man in line, was carrying one hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight and was already slowed by a severe limp. The man screamed as the wolf barreled into him, the great weight of the thing taking him down. Mighty jaws took out the man's throat making him a corpse before he had even quit rolling. The last thing Bernard saw as he dragged himself into the helicopter screaming at the pilot to get them airborne…NOW… was that ugly, blood covered muzzle moving towards the pale face of the woman who also sprawled limply on the ground.

DAMN…that was a waste of a good cunt! Fricken wolf meat! Damn! Oh well, Duprey sat back trying to catch his breath…at least it was the red haired, slender girl that had died. She probably would not have survived more than one or two sessions with him anyways. The girl had that delicate look about her that said she would give up after just a little humiliation and pain. No, it was much better that the big blond was still a captive, she looked as if she could take some punishment. HELL, she might even survive a session or two with Titan, AFTER he was done with her.

* * *

Justin breathed a sigh of relief as he checked Elizabeth over. The girl seemed to be almost unharmed. A state she would not have stayed in, EXCEPT for the fact that Griffon's usually very accurate trouble radar had gone off when the strangers had entered his bar. The barman had placed a call to Justin as soon as the group had left his establishment. Justin, being the town blacksmith, was the only one of the Family close enough (and by profession, big and tough enough) to provide immediate assistance. Even so…by the time the big man had tracked the group to the forest, they had already abducted the girls. The smith had known he would have real trouble catching up to the strangers, he was built for strength, not speed. The first thing he had done when he realized this was alert the Brethren to trouble in their midst. The Family and the forest Brethren had maintained a mutual pact for centuries. The great forest wolves had responded immediately, hounding and harassing to slow the men down, so that the slower Smith could catch up.

A deep whine distracted the Blacksmith from the still figure of Elizabeth. The big grey Alpha of the pack, limped forwards and Justin let the big wolf lick his face and open mouth. The animal had taken a hit, a bullet had grazed across the heavy shoulder and dug a bleeding furrow down the beast's shaggy side. The Smith was well known to be one of the kindest members of the sometimes rigid hierarchy that existed in the ancient Family. He patted the coarse head and cast a low level Cure on the beast. Then he easily lifted the limp form of his brother's mate into heavily muscled arms and headed back towards town. Griffon was going to be incensed when he found out that those rogues had gotten away with his sister-in-law. The forest wolves would spread out and start searching for where this group was holed up. When they were found, there would be HELL to pay!

* * *

Reno had to stifle his snicker at the bewildered look on Whisper's face. Anyone who was someone came to Giuseppe's for the crème d le' crème of fashion. Of course….EVERYONE was also aware of what they might have to put up with to GET those fashions. The little Tailor was known to have more grasping and groping limbs then a dreaded Marlboro! As the excited (in more ways then one!) little man practically dragged the big White off to the fitting rooms, Rude's reflective lenses tilted his partner's way.

"Man…do ya think one of us ought to go back there with them?"

Reno grinned,

"YO…No worries…Whisper gave me his word that he would be on his best behavior."

The dark man snorted softly and then straightened up to follow after the obviously terrified Were.

"It is not WHISPER'S behavior I am concerned about!"

Some time later, Reno felt that whatever the big Albino had put up with, it was well worth it. The odd little Tailor had captured the White's raffish nature completely. Soft suede, charcoal grey pants, clung to every curve on the Were's tight butt and long, well muscled legs. The cuffs where tucked into Blood red boots that hugged the male's calves like a second skin. That long, thick tail would coil around occasionally, creating a sharp contrast between the ivory, blood, and dark ash. Whisper's narrow waist was wrapped with a silk sash that matched the crimson of the Albino's distinctive eyes, and a dove grey vest settled across the broad shoulders, leaving Whisper's powerful chest and chiseled belly bare. The Were's wild, cream colored mane had been tamed with a strip of crimson leather so that it cascaded in waves over the soft silvery silk that made up the back of his vest.

The red head's quick eyes caught his partner with an almost desperate look on his face as the big man slipped up beside the seemingly stunned, very quiet, Were. Guiseppe beamed with pleasure, the little man was in pure heaven, sandwiched between a stunning example of how Ebony and Ivory really could be in perfect harmony.

Rude started violently and hastened (which was saying something for the big man's state of mind, Rude NEVER hurried anywhere) over to Reno's side.

"MAN…..what the HELL is he groping me with when I can SEE both of his hands on Whisper's ASS?"

The usually calm and impeccably dressed Turk had a definitely "disheveled" air about him.

Whisper appeared beside them and practically DRAGGED them to the door.

"WELL…..that was…interesting."

Pale lips curled and red eyes glanced warily behind them as the shop door closed.

"Tell me…is it normal to feel like I need a shower after…shopping?"

Rude missed a step, then recovered nicely.

"Yeah…in this case, I believe wanting a shower would be VERY appropriate!"

Reno lost it. One set of narrowed bloody eyes glared at him and a set of shades,(how do sunglasses look hostile?) turned in his direction as the red head collapsed against the nearest wall and laughed until tears were streaming down his face.

* * *

Step…Step…Turn and step again. Shadow paced. He started at one side of his cell, hands and feet moving in a measured, mechanical stride. Only to reverse directions when he hit the opposite wall and return the way he had come, close to, but not touching the electrified bars that lined the Glassteel. The Were's wedge shaped head was carried low on his thick neck, and his narrow muzzle swayed from side to side as his black shoulders rolled with each stride. The great beast's usually bright gold eyes were dimmed to the color of old brass. This was an indication of his general state of being, not just that he was keeping his inner eyelids closed. He hurt… not only in body (There was not a part of him that did not ache.) but also in spirit. His heart screamed silently with an agony that could not be appeased.

Yes…the ruins had not been paradise, BUT… at least there, Shadow had been free. He had been able to dream of a better place and to, on occasion, get a treasured glimpse of the night stars. Here…there was nothing but pain, loneliness, fear, and humiliation. The Black wasn't sure which was worse. He had spent a large part of the morning strapped to a metal table. The cruel human male who seemed to be the Alpha here, was one that he remembered very clearly. This man had been kept in a semblance of control when Sergeant had been in charge of the Troop. There was no such control here. Duprey (oh yes… Shadow recalled this one's name very well indeed!) had started the morning by "collecting" sperm samples. The man had taken a perverse pleasure in causing the helpless Were considerable pain when he inserted an electric prod into the male's tender anal passage. The normally dominant Black could not do anything but moan his anger and humiliation deep in his throat. Shadow then found out that this discomfort was NOTHING in comparison to the pain of having that THING activated inside of him, so that his ejaculate could be harvested. The scientist had repeated this time and time again, long after the Were was wrung dry, evidently just for the fun of watching his victim arch and spasm against the restraints. Then, with very little time to recover…the white coat's had, in relay, cast Cure, starting with the very lowest strength first and then working up in intensity until Shadow was a writhing, (as much as his restrained body could writhe) twitching, foaming at the muzzled mouth, wreck. He was still in bad enough shape that just the thought of eating or drinking caused his innards to spasm.

Shadow moaned under his breath and then huffed softly. HELL…even his head hurt. He was pretty sure that Titan was still alive, he kept getting whiffs of his sib's scent carried in on the white coat's lab jackets. Part of his brain was saddened that his big brother had been captured. With the death of Steel, the Troop was getting distressingly small. BUT…another part of his mind screamed in rage at the other black of the group. If Titan had not attacked him, Shadow would still be roaming the ruins at night trying to catch a glimpse of the stars. He was caught between the ties of blood that bound him irrevocably to the mighty male… and pure hate for what his brother had caused. The conflict was tearing his intellect apart. The Black worked hard at just keeping his mind blank. This, plus the mind numbing cadence of his footfalls was the only way he was maintaining any semblance of sanity.

Long, shell like ears rose, and then flattened at the, also well remembered, sounds of rape, the slap of flesh on flesh, muffled screams, and low grunts, that were coming from one of the cells he could not see. Almost all of the staff had vanished for hours after the morning's long session. When the men had returned, Duprey had brought a captive female who was most definitely NOT enjoying the lab's hospitality. Shadow was probably the only Troop male who understood the difference between human and Were female's perception of sex. The Black had previously had the concept of rape brutally demonstrated to him and he silently grieved for the woman who was being ill used. His whole being ached with the need to interfere and spare her the grisly fate that awaited, even if it meant all that he could do was give her a clean death.

He could not help her. He could not help himself. Shadow had tried the electric bars of his prison… AGAIN… at the sound of her first scream and there was NO escaping. Locked in a world of sorrow, rage, and pain, Shadow paced. Step…Step…turn, and Step again.

* * *

;) reviews are always welcome...and THANK YOU to those who have taken the time to do so.


	21. Chapter 21

Screwed up my arm and am using the hunt and peck technique for typing...bear with me! This is a not for profit fan fiction. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story line.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 21

Dr. Becket sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. It had been a long but good day. Both of the "specimens"…had been model citizens on their first outing. It had been an eye opening experience to watch the sibling's innocent pleasure at the slew of new "adventures" that the Turks took them on. (If you would call, clothes shopping, checking out a jewelry store, having Sushi in a restaurant…an adventure) The little kimonoed Sushi chef had taken a special interest in the odd little group and had gotten imaginative. He even provided Ice with a meal the likes of which the golden female had ever dreamed. Her raw seafood and succulent seaweed was chopped to an extraordinary fineness and served to her with delicate, melt in your mouth, rice crackers instead of the usual sticky rice. Both Were's had LOVED the pungent wasabi and the fact that they could eat with their hands, (Licking every bit off of strong fingers when finished seemed to be a special treat. Reno had watched the pleasure the two got out of doing this and had copied them much to his stoic partner's chagrin!) The little Chef had practically swelled with pride at the perceived compliment.

Cloud and Cid had been a little concerned about taking the pair into the supermarket, especially after the peanut butter fiasco. Valentine got twin promises that the Weres would touch NOTHING unless it was given to them by one of the group, preferably Vincent, Cloud, Marion, or Rude. (when Reno protested that he could be responsible…it was not just a resounding triple no… but a HELL no!… along with a slap upside the head from Rude.)

Hell…the Doctor had never seen ANYONE so excited at being inside a grocery store! You would have thought Ice and Whisper were splurging at the Golden Saucer, such was their wonder at seeing shelf upon shelf of, to them, exotic foods. Marion chuckled…the brother and sister both had difficulties dealing with their primate greed, and had to work HARD to keep from drooling. Rude (the big man proved he was a true marshmallow at heart, and even though the sibs didn't ASK….their expressive faces spoke volumes) didn't help any when he would occasionally pluck things off of the shelf for the overwhelmed Weres to sample. The pair had looked like chipmunks when they became too full to actually eat the tidbits, BUT, their greedy primate nature could NOT say no and they ended up packing the excess into limited cheek pouches.

Full lips curved from their gentle smile down into a frown here…how COULD Dr. Angelique think of these two wonderful, unique beings as ordinary lab fodder? Maybe it was because the woman had not met the living ones, who seemed almost… human… sometimes. All the aging scientist had to base her opinion on was a couple of corpses in the morgue and some violent behavior. It was very evident that the Shinra head of research was thinking of the Weres as just very large monkeys. Some of the tests she had ordered Marion to run, were humiliatingly invasive at best and excruciatingly painful at their worst. When the little Vet had asked about anesthetic…the answer had horrified her. Angel's carefully worded reply was that lab animals were NOT usually sedated as the drug could skew the test results. PLUS… they did not know what side affects could result at the huge dosages of drugs needed to compensate for the Were's healing factor. It was the head researcher's opinion, that this should be explained to the creature's keepers and that they should make use of the heavy restraints being provided even IF the specimens were cooperative. After all…they were still very dangerous animals, and the Changeling's (translation…Yuffie's) future depended on the research that needed to be done.

Marion's hand crept up to again rub at her now aching head. She had heard the rumors that Shinra had conducted experiments on volunteers in its SOLDIER program. This had stopped when the most famous voluntary subject…General Sephiroth…went off of the deep end. She had a distinct feeling that Valentine might have been one of these volunteers and had received a lot more in the way of modifications than he had bargained for…hence his definite resistance to anything that smacked of scientific research. Still, if he had been willing to place himself at the leading edge of research at one time, it might not be to terribly difficult to make him see the necessity for the tests here. Yuffie's health would be a huge bargaining chip in gaining his approval.

The woman gathered up her papers and notes, speaking of that demon-ridden man, she was supposed to meet with him and be enlightened as to what she was actually dealing with. Marion snorted…really, as if she wasn't a grown woman. Yes, she could be a little naive at times, but there were no BIG, BAD, WOLVES here, and she HAD made it to adulthood without someone holding her hand.

* * *

"Whisper…could you come here for a moment?"

Vincent hesitated to ask this of the male…after all… he kept HIS tag well hidden under leather and gold.

"Will you please show Dr. Marion your tag?"

Whisper smiled at the gunman and hustled over to kneel down beside the confused scientist.

"Mine is not as pretty as Rude's."

The Were tilted his head so that Marion could catch the tip of his long mobile ear. Crimson eyes caught the slight frown as the woman read that innocuous seeming little piece of bright metal. "Property of Shinra Corp."

"Thank you Whisper."

The alabaster face did not change expression as the ex-Turk observed how those slender fingers absently patted the silky white mane before the Albino rose and went back to join the Turks.

"Today you saw one side of being owned by Shinra…"

Valentine glanced in the Turks direction, then that solemn, bloody gaze slid over to pin the scientist in her seat. The man pushed a small pile of computer disks her way.

"This is the "other" side of being owned." Valentine caught the small hand as Marion reached for the disks.

"You need to understand…I… once walked the paths of a Turk, thinking I was protected under the umbrella of ownership. In the time it took a bullet to cross ten feet, those privileges were stripped away and I was set on the path's of the damned."

Releasing her, Vincent let the little Vet gather up Sergeant Muran's pirated video records. As she put the first one in, the man's dark head dipped towards Cloud who had watched the quiet scene from his seat at the table with half lidded, mako tainted eyes. The swordsman had his hands resting lightly on the stack of files he was going through at Vincent's request. Only a trained eye would have caught the slight tremor that made those fingers twitch as the computer monitor came to life and the sounds of a research lab permeated the room.

The blonde nodded slightly at the question he saw in Vincent's ruby eyes.

"Cloud here had a very similar experience under the…benevolent…ownership of Shinra when his "services" as a SOLDIER were no longer deemed necessary."

Cloud tilted back a little in his chair, and after catching Marion's confused hazel gaze with his own grim one of sky blue, he reached down and lifted the edge of his sweater until the barcode tattooed into his flank could be seen. The scientist looked away, trying to hide her flinch and the gunman let her focus her attention on the computer screen. The woman's face settled into an unreadable mask as she watched the atrocities committed in that research lab all for the sake of science. When the first muffled screaming started, Vincent caught the shudder that ran over Whisper's suddenly very still form. A quick glance confirmed that the male's ears were flat and his mane sucked in tight.

"Rude…?"

The big man's head snapped up at the tone that reverberated through the deep voice.

"Maybe you should take Whisper and see if Yuffie and his sister might want some tea…hmmm?"

Crimson eyes narrowed as the Turk quietly led Whisper out of the conference room. Reno suddenly looked more than a little nervous. Valentine was very aware that the only reason the Turks had attended this impromptu meeting was to verify that the little Vet did not get away if she broke and tried to run. Marion was probably unaware that the employment papers she had signed made it legal for Shinra to enforce by any means necessary the… only way to quit the company was in a coffin….clause it included in every prominent researchers contract. Vincent was very familiar with this. As a Turk, he had been an enforcer on many missions where Shinra employee's had a sudden change of heart and wanted out of their contracts. The fact that he had been the one to "release" them from the binding agreement (and life itself) insinuated itself many nights into his dark dreams. It created a huge blackness on his terminally stained soul. The man did not realize that the sharp claws on his armed hand were tapping holes into the file in front of him until Cloud casual reached over and snatched it away.

* * *

Cloud gave the now tattered file a fleeting glance as he rescued it. He was not at all surprised at the fact that Valentine was wound up screaming tight…again! Like himself, the man truly hated anything to do with Shinra's dubious research practices…especially if it involved Professor Hojo. Mother Gia…the gunman was like the world's scariest jack in the box…just waiting for something to hit his release button. The vivid image of CHAOS being the one to sprong out of the box wiped the small, nervous smile that had started to twitch the blonde's lips up… clean off of his face.

The ex-Soldier could not stand the tension of just sitting and watching as Vincent's eyes brightened with hot gold highlights at the sounds coming from that cursed disk. The ex-Turk's intense gaze rested on the still form of the woman in front of the computer and the his pale lips were thinned down to a grim straight line. Blue eyes flashed to glance at the trim form seated in front of that screen and Cloud had to squelch his own visceral reaction to the look…no…the un-look that had settled across Dr. Marion's regular features. Damn…did every scientist PRACTICE that look of clinical detachment? Was it a job requirement? This did not bode well for Ice and Whisper.

The swordsman had started to like this feisty little Vet, and was coming to believe that the scientist was one of the few who bore that title who MIGHT have the ethics to make the two sibling's lives as willing captives bearable. The fact that the good "Doctor" could watch those tapes with no other emotion than professional curiosity, was making that belief a rapidly dwindling commodity. (Cloud had watched just enough of them to truly pity the members of the Troop, and then he could stomach no more) To distract himself from watching Valentine wind himself tighter, and to get away from the sick fascination of wondering WHEN the man's legendary control would break AGAIN, (Hmmm, just who would get pounded this time? Not me…no sirree…not this time!) Cloud opened the file in is hand. The opening thesis statement gave rise to the thought that this might not be as dry a read as he was prepared for.

"A dissertation on the validity of there being a core truth in which the urban legends concerning the supernatural creature known as Were Wolves or Lycanthropes, are based …"

Cloud flipped through a few pages, The paper had been very well researched and the scientist who had put forth the theory had enough evidence that the whole concept was very believably…this was evidently the thesis that had sparked Shinra's interest in researching…Lycanthropes. The services of the Archeologist had been bought and the scientist had indeed found an indigenous population of Were Wolves in a very remote northern location. The mighty corporation had move fast with this knowledge….but in the act of capturing one live, heavily gravid female, the entire pack had rallied to defend and ALL of the pack members had been destroyed. The one remaining Were had been spirited away into the research labs were the fetuses that she carried were altered with human DNA in an attempt to create not Weres with the ability to look human, but Humans with the ability to change to beasts. Ten live pups had been born and much to the researcher's disappointment they were still Were in nature. BUT… with one distinct difference. These were not Were Wolf pups….the experiment had caused a mutative type of de-evolution to occur and the beast base for these siblings was most definitely PRIMATE. Shinra had been encouraged by the results and wished to try again, but the female had pined away and died very shortly after the Troop was born. The scientists had searched the globe but no other members of the now classified Lycanthrope race were discovered. The new race had been listed as extinct even before any word of them ever leaked to the public.

The swordsman hissed softly through his teeth. This was genocide that the head of research was so blithely dismissing. If that was the case…then Shinra had, in one cruel act, made all of the members of the Troop…. true orphans… in every sense of the word.

Project Cerberus (the hellhounds)… as it was titled, had been tanked after thirty years. When the beasts had hit adulthood they became too difficult to control. Still… the harm had been done. Project C had produced the research that had enabled Hojo to implant the three lesser of Vincent's demons into his favorite "specimen". It was because of the discovery of the Lycanthropes that Vincent's body could morph the way that it did without permanent harm to the host. The Galian beast was a DIRECT result of Lycanthrope cells mixed with their virulent virus being implanted in the man. The Chaos gene kept that mutating virus firmly in control. It was as close to a true "Change" from human to Were that the demented professor had ever created.

Cloud did not realize that his small sound had drawn the unwavering attention of Valentine. The blonde could not stop the small shake that started in his hands or the soft groan of despair that crept out of his throat when he read the last paragraph of the report.

The ex-Soldier felt bile rise up into his mouth…Oh… HELL… no! All of this had been precipitated by the Graduate Thesis of one man…someone that Vincent had KNOWN.

The last note on the report read….

"It has been brought to my attention that the man who discovered Project C is a unique individual who has the rare ability to think outside of the box. This scientist does not let drivel such as public opinion, or emotion interfere with his scientific pursuits and this company would be making a great mistake if it continues with it's plan to "Terminate" his employment. It would be in the best interest of Shinra Corporation to offer Dr. Grimiore Valentine permanent tenure on this research staff."

Cloud looked up, only to find that he had drawn the attention of the last man he wanted to have this knowledge. DAMN….he was SOOOO going to be the one pounded!

* * *

Reno had been covertly watching the odd little group at the conference table. The fact that both Cloud and Valentine had made it through the gruesome reminders of their past in the sounds of the first disk and were starting on the second…just amazed the Turk. HE had never been a victim of Hojo's and those tapes gave him a serious case of the willies.

Cool green eyes appraised the very still form of Shinra's newest employee and the experienced Turk did not see indifference. The red head had led many "missions" where whole families had been…erased. He had seen that same quiet, contemplative look fall over the faces of those who saw their loved ones die and knew that their death was coming. This was a type of shock and when it broke, the young woman would pay the price of suppressing the intense feelings that watching the torture on those miserable records had to be stirring up. After all….Marion had become a Veterinarian because she LIKED animals.

* * *

Vincent studied Marion as she watched those accursed disks and found himself wondering (not for the first time in his unlucky life) if some people were born missing the gene that controlled compassion. The gunman could not understand how anyone with a soul could see another creature in such agony and not respond in any way at all. Well…he thought wryly, maybe they should count themselves lucky that at least the scientist was responding with indifferent interest and not the sick pleasure that some seemed to get out of other's pain.

Cloud made an odd choking sound and when the ex-Turk's attention shifted to the blonde, Valentine had to stifle a twinge of unease. Sky blue flashed his way and the swordsman paled a little. What the Hell…? What could be in that file that would have an experienced warrior like Cloud looking like he was facing off with Sephiroth again? Vincent felt Chaos perk up a little….

"YOU ARE AWFULLY TENSE….HOST. MAYBE HE IS WORRIED THAT YOU MIGHT LOSE YOUR TEMPER… AND HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL GET POUNDED….AGAIN…HUM?"

Vincent barely managed to hide his flinch…the Demon Lord was being insufferably smug. He did his best to ignore the Galian beast's snicker.

Valentine knew that he was probably never going to live down the one time in his demon (and he used this term lightly) enhanced life that he had totally lost his temper with a friend. His permanent guests would see to that.

He gave vent to a soft sigh,

"Bugger off…. Chaos."

The gunslinger's ruby gaze never left Cloud's very tense form. The man's hands had even started to shake. Elegant brows drew down in a frown as Cloud's vivid gaze flicked up and was trapped by glimmering gold in red. Strong, tapered, leather clad fingers gracefully reached for the file. Vincent's deep voice was purposefully pitched low and soft.

"What is it Cloud?"

Cloud's expressive face crumpled…and he actually scooted his chair back whilst pulling the file away from the gunman's long reach.

"Gods Vincent…you really don't want to see this!"

Okay…unease had just flashed to total concern. The anxiety that had been coiling in the ex-Turk's belly fired out to race through him, priming muscle and nerves in an instinctive flight or fight reaction. The man could feel his eyeteeth elongate and he knew that, even without Chaos pushing, the crimson was now almost total gold.

That seemingly languid hand flicked out with blurring speed, plucking the file out of numb fingers before Cloud could pull it out of reach again. The blonde caught his lower lip between even white teeth. Pale lips tightened into a grim line as Vincent did not miss the fact that the swordsman eased himself so that he had a clear escape route to the door.

"Really Cloud…how bad can this be?"

Cloud leaned forwards, the intense mako glow in his narrowed eyes telling the gunman just how keyed up the Ex-Soldier really was.

"Just remember that old saying, Vincent…. You know…the one about not killing the messenger!"

* * *

Reno had been splitting his attention between the too quiet little Vet, and the other two males in the room. The Turk was too far away to clearly hear the soft words passing between the usually quiet men. He was in the wrong position to read their lips. And… even if he could, he didn't want his attention to be trapped by what was transpiring there. The redhead had excellent instincts and they were telling him that when Marion's state of mind caught up with what she was watching…her reaction was going to be extreme. Reno had learned through hard experience to ALWAY trust his instincts.

Pale green narrowed. Still, he needed to know what was going on. Cloud's body language was screaming that the man was close to freaking out….and it had something to do with the always dangerous, demon ridden, ex-Turk. That could be a very BAD combination. Reno could not control his twitch as Valentine snagged the file that the swordsman was trying to keep from him. Damn…. the gunslinger was frickin FAST!

The Turk shifted, trying to look casual as he made sure that he could draw his EMR unhindered. SHIT! A gold laced ruby gleam told him that Valentine had noticed. Reno risked a quick glance towards Dr. Becket. Her attention was still focused totally on the computer screen. If shit hit the fan, the woman was going to get caught flat footed.

Yes…Reno was here to make sure the naïve scientist remained a loyal employee of Shinra. As an employee, Marian was automatically entitled to certain benefits. The Turk was also here in the capacity that Valentine would be very familiar with….that of bodyguard! Red brows lowered in a thoughtful frown. (an expression that felt foreign on Reno's face!) The young woman was now almost unrealistically still, it was as if she wasn't even breathing.

Reno's attention jerked back and his stomach twisted as Valentine convulsively hunched in his chair, much like a man who had just been hit in the vitals by a bullet. The gunman was shaking and those brilliant eyes were closed.

Cloud cautiously leaned forwards, and this time Reno clearly heard the blonde softly murmur.

"Man…Vincent, I am so sorry…"

The sound of lethal talons, powered by demon enhanced muscle, being sunk into the hard wood of the table top, ripped through the room. Valentine's gauntleted fingers bit deep, as if the iron grained oak was nothing more than softened cheese. The sound of distressed wood easily overrode the disk currently being watched by the Vet. Cloud pushed his chair back a fraction and Reno's hand stealthily closed over his EMR as Vincent's pale lips pulled back in a pained grimace. Surprisingly… only strong, even white teeth were exposed. When the gunman lifted his dark head, the only color in his now open eyes was a crimson so dark it almost looked black. The man's clenched gauntlet slowly opened as he pried the digits out of the deep grooves he had created. Reno realized that he was holding his breath as Valentine stood up. Every graceful move the gunman made spoke volumes, Vincent was clamping down with every bit of steely control that he had.

"If you will kindly excuse me…."

The deep, whispered words sounded hollow.

As the ex-Turk turned towards the door, he dropped the file. Before it had fluttered down an inch, that other deadly hand blurred. Sky blue and pale green widened as Cloud and Reno watched the tiny pieces of the slashed up file slowly drift to the floor. The soft click of the door closing pulled both men out of their shocked trance. Cloud lurched to his feet, sucking in a deep breath. Evidently Reno had not been the only one not breathing.

The blonde's almost delicate features twisted in concern,

"SHIT….!"

His shadowed gaze held Reno's face for a minute.

"Do you think that the GODS will ever get tired of making him their favorite FUCK toy?"

The Turk just blinked…what the HELL had been in that file?

* * *

Marion felt that she was a relatively smart, strong individual. After all, she had overcome a poverty stricken childhood, and worked her ass off to gain the title of Doctor. The scientist had been a member of research teams and she knew that sometimes, to the layman's biased eyes, the techniques used in animal research for the purpose of gaining scientific knowledge could seem cruel. Hell…some of them WERE down right cruel but one had to balance the need against the ethics involved. She had gotten a clear view of the many scars that traced over Valentine's torso like so many silvery spider webs, that morning. Dr. Becket had made the assumption that some of them were probably due to the violent life of a Turk and some where from having volunteered to be a human guinea pig. His assertion that what had been done to him had been done AGAINST his will and Cloud's backing him up by showing a specimen barcode permanently tattooed on soft HUMAN skin shook her to her very core..

Dr. Becket slipped the first disk in, and let her face settle into what she dubbed her clinical mask. In the scientific research circles that she operated in, showing emotion was a good way to draw ridicule and many rivals would use being "TOO" emotional as a weapon to shoot down any theory one might put forward.…every researcher quickly learned to let no emotion escape to the surface where it could be seen. She had always had a soft spot for animals and it had been a hard lesson to learn, it was not in her nature to suppress the emotions of pity and sorrow that had sometimes cropped up during many of the tests she had performed. The Vet had soothed her conscience by always being as quick and humane as possible when she was the primary doing the experiment.

The young woman watched the first images of a Troop member being strapped to an exam table without to much trouble, after all even as young kits they were incredibly strong and dangerous. BUT… as she watched a struggling, panic stricken, young, white ruffed female who looked a lot like Ice purposefully held down in a submersion tank to see if a Were could be drowned, the calm that she forced on herself settled into her bones like ice. Her experienced eye told her that the technicians went out of their way to cause the creature as much terror as possible before her thrashing stilled and her vitals flat lined from oxygen deprivation. Yes…it seemed a Were could be drowned, but it took a VERY long time. The limp body was hauled unceremoniously out of the water, thrown on a table and heavily restrained. The young Vet watched with a growing sense of horror as the head of the team opened the body in a classic autopsy procedure. The "Doctor" (and her mind stuttered at giving the man this title) inserted silver clips into the edges of the gaping wound to prevent it from closing, then watched and recorded as the Were's incredible healing factor kick started her heart and forced the suffocating water out of her lungs in an almost silent coughing scream. Marion had a sudden and vivid image of the long gently curving scar she had seen that morning flowing down Valentine's sternum. Her MIND had recognized what it was…and her heart had refused to acknowledge it.

The little Vet's eyes watched, and her brain processed what she was seeing on those horrendous disks. Marion really did not want to continue watching after the first ended, but it was as if her reality was suspended and her free will was caught in a loop. Small white hands inserted the next disk even though she silently screamed at them to stop!.….the woman's SELF hovered in the background of her screaming mind…an unwilling captive of a body frozen in shock. Mother Gia! WHAT had she gotten herself into?

She was staring in a shocked trance at the image of a beautiful white female who could have been Whispers twin, when Valentine rose to his feet. Marion was aware that the man had left the room but could not drag her trapped gaze away from the sight of the blue eyed, white beast's flesh slowly dissolving. Evidently they had tried to encourage the Were's body to develop a resistance to silver by injecting her with a small amount of silver nitrate. They had truly miscalculated the dosage. The creature's screams were unending as the corrosive liquid traveled through her veins and started eating her alive from the inside out. Marion vaguely realized that maybe she should breath. Her chest felt as if a behemoth was sitting on it and her vision was starting to tunnel, but the woman could not break the block of ice that her insides seemed to have turned into to.

* * *

Reno did not say a word as Cloud took a moment to look at the little scientist. The Turk could practically see the wheels turning in the swordsman's head. Did he stay to keep an eye on the Doctor and Reno, or did he follow to make sure his long time companion was all right? The blonde did not let the red head down. Cloud turned and followed Valentine out of the door. Good, this just left Reno and the Doctor…speaking of which….enough was enough. The woman's hazel eyes were glazed and her lips had taken on a distinct bluish cast. The red head snagged the bottle of aged scotch he had placed under his chair and poured a full glass. He took a quick swig out of the opened bottle then stood up and moved to were the woman was sitting. The man set the full glass, and amber filled bottle down and slid his body between her trapped gaze and the gruesome scene on the screen. He was glad for the hit of alcohol as his mind registered the half dissolved LIVING body trapped in that research lab. One long, pale finger stabbed down, shutting the horror show off.

Marion flinched as he touched her on shoulder,

"Yo…ya need to take a breath and drink this…"

The woman stared at him, and Reno tightened the walls around what little soul he had left as what he WAS and what being a TURK truly meant, registered in the woman's mind.

She managed to suck in a harsh shaky breath, only to hiss it back out again.

"You….you willingly work for them…?" Her fingers flicked weakly at the computer…"You protect them and KILL for them! OH GODS! You are here to…. Don't…touch….me!"

Marion tried to push her chair away from the red head and he carefully put his hands in the air and backed off. It would probably be better to give the Vet some space until she accepted the position she was in. There was only one way in or out of the room, he could keep an eye on that door from the hallway.

* * *

Marion watched the lanky form of the Turk slip out the door. She had managed a breath or two but as the full impact of her situation hit her, bands of steel seemed to close around her ribcage. GODS…she could not draw a full breath. The scientist placed both hands on the table in front of her. They were shaking so hard that there was no way she was going to be able to hold that glass. She tried to stagger up…there were some strong sedatives down in the lab…but her legs wouldn't bear her weight and the woman found herself on her hands and knee's. HELL…she was so screwed!

As Marion's vision hazed out, she could not see the floor in front of her, instead she was overwhelmed with images of Cloud and Valentine, prime scientific "specimens" tortured, and screaming in much the same way as the Weres had been while they endured years of "research" The Doctor's world narrowed down to an unending battle just to get a little oxygen through her constricted throat and into lungs that felt like they were being crushed from the outside.

* * *

hehehehe cliff hanger...sorry the arm has had all it can take. Will post more soon!


	22. Chapter 22

Okay...I managed to coax one more chapter out of my hand. This is a fanfiction, I make no money from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story line.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 22

Chaos had been as stunned as Vincent at the information contained in that incriminating file. The demon was forced deep into his Host's subconscious when the man's mind recoiled violently away from what he was reading. Rage, disbelief, and a soul numbing hopelessness overwhelmed the ex-Turk's shaky mental stability. The Demon Lord watched as the progress Valentine had made towards hard earned emotional healing in the last few years, was totally shredded in a matter of seconds. The damage was so severe that it caused Vincent to mentally lock up.

Chaos held his breath….if that vapor lock suddenly evaporated, it could very well cause the destruction of everyone and everything inside of the room. The Dark One was totally blocked by the maelstrom that was occurring inside of his Host's mind. When he did try to push forwards, the demon could feel that delicately balanced emotional pendulum start the swing towards violence. Chaos normally would not mind a little blood and destruction…BUT he knew that if Valentine lost control…IF and when he regained his equilibrium, then guilt would totally consume the unstable man.

Vincent believed that SOME of the darkness in his soul was his own, but he attributed most of it to his demonic residents. The Dark one knew for a fact that the man was deluding himself. There was a deep and deadly side to his Host that would have eventually ruled him had Hojo not destroyed his psyche and then unwittingly twisted it so that the kernel of light in the man had a chance to grow. The deranged scientist would never know how close he had come, to creating a monster that would have been unstoppable when he had meshed Valentine to the powerful being that was Chaos. A soft growl escaped the demon's control…SHIT…sometimes that little bit of growing GOOD that his Host nurtured was a real pain in his ASS! (not to mention, probably damned contagious!) The demon could hear the Galian softly whining from the very deep and dark corner that the beast had slunk off to. There was no telling what Vincent would do if the demon let his own dark nature push him into making the ex-Turk release his deadly, violent side. With the memory of thirty years trapped in a coffin as PENANCE foremost in his mind, mighty Chaos chose to land on the side of caution…he wisely froze.

It was that small but very bright coal of light in the gunman's heart that finally tipped the balance. It fed the part of him that Lucrecia had awakened, that needed to protect rather than kill. This drove his body to its' feet. The only release it allowed was the quick and total destruction of the evidence of a betrayal of blood that went to the bone.

As the Host's body strode through the great airships corridors, Chaos for the first time in his long life found himself trying to WILL people out of Valentine's way. There must have been many individuals on Cid's payroll that had latent psychic abilities, because the halls magically cleared as if a shadow laden storm was rolling through.

The man ended up on one of the open air balconies that Vincent liked to frequent. Highwind had moored the aircraft about four hundred feet up…this prevented any possibility of a security breach by the public OR the occasional night loving monster. Chaos carefully rose, reaching for a taste of what was going on in his Host's chaotic mind. Suicide was an option that Valentine had tried before, the Demon Lord had learned to be on the alert when the gunman's delicate mental balance was compromised.

"VINCENT…." was as far as the demon got. Valentine focused in, and the ancient being was inundated with all of the dark emotions that were pounding at the man's crumbling barriers. Chaos didn't mind… after all… he WAS a demon. This type of negative energy was ONE of the things he fed on. Usually though, his… Host …fought to hold this type of energy away from him. Having Vincent practically cram it down his throat caught the dark one totally by surprise. Normally when Valentine lost control of his darker emotions, Chaos would be right there, drinking them up and using the energy gained to force a foothold so he could get out. His Host ALWAYS fought him tooth and nail. Even when he managed to suppress the man, Vincent would fight from the inside, forcing a semblance of control on the demon's actions. This was a fact that Chaos had learned to count on, The Host would ALWAYS fight to prevent as little collateral damage as possible until he could regain the upper hand. This time though….this time…Vincent's mind shuddered away from the demon, twisting and turning, trying to find an escaped route from the soul shredding emotional turmoil a father's perceived betrayal had caused.

The man's mental voice was a scream,

"I can't….please…let me…I am begging…PLEASE!"

Valentine, even with the state of mind he was in, knew that Chaos would prevent him from doing himself PHYSICAL harm. He took the only escape route open. Vincent launched himself past his most powerful demon before Chaos realized where he was going.

"CRAP….GALIAN GRAB HIM!

The beast shot out of his deep corner…but wasn't fast enough as the Host's essence dove deeper than it had ever gone. Even when Vincent had forced himself into slumber for thirty years, the demons had been able to keep his mind ticking over by stimulating him with nightmares. This time… he went so far down that Chaos couldn't even FEEL him. The dark Lord snarled as he started his own dive, if the gunslinger thought he could hide from the demon in his own mind, he had another thing coming.

Galion roared…and rose… blocking his pursuit, and pushing the more powerful demon UP, ahead of him…WHAT THE FUCK!..? Then Chaos realized that as Valentine had retreated from the outside world… his body… with no one at the helm so to speak, had collapsed, tipping dangerously over the railing that was the only thing between it and a four hundred foot drop into the night.

"SHIT!"

* * *

Ice soft footed her way through the hallways…She had spent a large part of the evening with Yuffie, giving the airsick girl some subtle comfort until her blood reached saturation and she could Change. The Changeling had shown her appreciation by plopping the both of them down on the bed where she carefully worked the little braids and bells out of Ice's cinnamon mane. The little ninja was slowly running a brush through the now wavy mass when Whisper had slipped through the door. Ice didn't even try to conceal her delight at the steaming sweet tea he brought with him. Upon seeing the envious look her brother shot her way, Ice invited him up so that the male could also enjoy the pleasure of being groomed by hands other than his own. Whisper, being a low ranked male…had very rarely had that pleasure, AND after his escape from the labs…like Ice, he had gone a LONG time totally without physical contact.

As she moved silently down the corridor, Ice huffed, and hid her smile… her mighty brother had become a big, quivering pile of Were-goo after just a couple of passes of Yuffie's magical brush. The females had decided that the male had been lax in not bringing some cookies to be soaked in the tea and slurped up. Rude had introduced the Weres to the fact that not ALL cookies tasted like crap…and there were several tasty types now gracing the cupboards in the galley. Ice was voted as the one to go get them as Whisper was "a big quivering pile of Were-goo," and Yuffie was the one keeping him as such.

The female was focused on getting those cookies and she did not see Reno slouching silently at his post as she passed the conference room door. His softly hissed…

"Yo…Ice…?" brought her to a stop.

The Turk glanced warily at the door.

"Hey, do ya think you could check on the Doc for me? She was pretty upset, and since I seem to be part of the prob…."

The redhead gave a sheepish shrug and waggled his eyebrows at the Were.

"I am asking nice…Please."

Ice snorted… the silly male. Trying out his charms on her! The female knew that her brother had his sights set on this fire headed fool, she most certainly would not interfere in that! Besides, it was a wasted effort on the man's part. Ice LIKED the little Vet. She did not need to be persuaded to check on the woman.

As Ice entered the room, she hesitated in confusion. There seemed to be no one here. The atmosphere was thick with the scent of rage, pain and fear. This was unpleasant enough that her mane automatically ruffed out as her ears flattened. A couple of careful steps in, and those ears shot up as the Were picked up the sound of someone struggling to breath. A couple of quick strides had the golden female kneeling beside the shaking form of the Vet. Marion was balanced on her hands and knees, her eyes were closed and Ice could tell that although she was gasping for breath, the woman was moving very little air into her lungs. Dr. Becket's sharp featured face was grey and her lips had turned a distinct purplish blue. The female eased the scientist's stiff form into her arms with the intention of getting the woman to lay down. Marion convulsively grabbed at her, shaking her head, any movement at all seemed to make it harder for the little Doctor to breath. There was a quick flash of glazed hazel , the usually vibrant color was almost obliterated by pupils that were dilated wide in panic. Ice hissed…STUPID male…this was way past the "pretty upset" point! The Were eased the body in her arms down onto its' side and tried to ignore Marion's strangled moan. Flying to the door, she reached through, grabbed, and then YANKED the startled Turk into the room. Before the man could complain he was shoved around the table.

"WHAT the…Oh SHIT…!"

The red head didn't hesitate, he gathered the feebly protesting Vet into strong arms, easily resisting her efforts to push him away. Pale eyes flashed towards Ice…

"Go find Valentine, I'll get her to the medical bay."

Ice was gone by the time he finished the sentence.

* * *

In the few seconds it had taken Cloud to decide to follow the rapidly moving gunslinger, the man had vanished. The blonde wasted precious time finding Cid. The Sky Captain had a knack for figuring out where the reclusive Valentine was usually hiding. The gamble paid off as both men skidded to a stop just inside the still open door leading out to the balcony that Vincent currently occupied. Neither of the gunslinger's friends wanted to bear the brunt of the demon-ridden man's possibly lethal temper, so one could forgive their slight hesitation as Vincent staggered, both hands digging into his raven hair. The ebony was rapidly stained with crimson as no care was taken with razor sharp claws. Both men did surge forwards as the ex-Turk sagged and his body tipped over the waist high rail. Cid got a hand on a gun belt and refused to let go even when the sleek, black clad form warped, changing shape under his grip.

"Ah…FUCK!" was all the pilot managed as he just managed to duck out of the way of the black on red wings that tore their bloody way out of Vincent's back. Narrowed cerulean blue eyes glared at Cloud who had managed to get a grip on one now heavily muscled arm.

"What the HELL did your DUMB Chocobo ass do this time!

The swordsman's face twisted in outrage.

"Damn it…this isn't my fault!"

Cloud gave a Herculean heave, powerful wings gave a couple of hard pumps nearly knocking the blonde over the rail and Chaos managed to right himself. The demon crouched and spread his dark wings wide, knocking the swordsman off of his arm. A nasty, fang baring snarl had Cid back pedaling. The dark one gave a light jump and steadied himself on the rail for a moment, wings mantled for balance.

Ah….SHIT! The sky Captain just KNEW he was going to regret this. He jumped and got a grip on the leading edge of the wing closest to him.

"Just where the fricken Hell do ya think you are going?"

The demon flexed flight muscles and Cid found himself lifted to dangle a couple of feet off of the deck. A hot gold glare pinned him.

"WELL….SINCE VALENTINE SEEMS TO BE ON PERMANENT HIATUS….I THOUGHT I WOULD FLY IN TO TOWN AND… YOU KNOW…. PILLAGE, KILL, RAPE, (NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER) AND…. MAYBE I WILL EAT A HELPLESS PINK BABY OR TWO…."

Chaos paused here and cocked his head in an odd manner. It looked almost like he was waiting for an internal response.

The wing drooped, lowering Highwind back to the ground. Surprisingly elegant black brows furrowed in a thoughtful frown.

"WELL CRAP…I THOUGHT FOR SURE THAT WOULD BRING HIM ROARING TO THE SURFACE, ALL HELL BENT ON SAVING THE INNOCENTS AND SUCH. I AM …SO… DISAPPOINTED."

Cloud passed a trembling hand over his face, his voice was shaking with relief.

"Oh…. so you were just kidding?"

Chaos's dark lips split in a wicked grin.

"NO….AS A MATTER OF FACT…IF VALENTINE ISN'T GOING TO INTERFER. I THINK I WILL GO AHEAD WITH MY NIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT."

Cloud flinched and his "why was I afraid you were going to say that," was lost in the thunder of Chaos's first wing stroke.

* * *

Chaos was getting pumped at the thought of being able to…indulge… with no Vincent to control him. BUT…the demon never cleared the rail. For the second time that night, the leading edge of his wing was snatched, but this time incredibly strong hands YANKED hard and the demon found himself bodily hauled out of the air and slammed into the two other males on the balcony. He ended up tangled in a pile of legs, arms, and wings on the deck.

Chaos surged up, howling with anger and his enraged molten eyes landed on the lithe form of his attacker.

"ICE….YOU BITCH!"

Ice stepped up chest to chest with him, her own arctic pale gaze was frantic and apologetic at the same time. Slender, strong hands trapped the Demon Lord's face and soft lips closed over his mouth before he could vent his anger. The gold bled back to amber as Chaos succumbed to a common, male interacting with the opposite sex, state of mind… total confusion. When Ice felt him relax, she swung around behind him and started pushing the larger male towards the door. The Demon stalled for a second, then with an odd shrug at the other two floored, flabbergasted males that said "…HEY, SHE MAY BE A BITCH, BUT AT LEAST SHE IS …MY.. .BITCH." he allowed the female to hustle him off.

Chaos was amazed, when without any hesitation at all, the golden female ruthlessly pushed him into the medical bay. His natural questions were cut off when he saw the lean form of Reno bent over the still form of Marion on one of the hospital beds.

The Demon growled…

"JUST WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING…TURK?"

Icy green eyes slashed the dark ones way and widened in shock. Chaos had to give the human credit …the red head was the second in command of the Turks for a reason. Reno had balls of pure titanium. The man's pale lips tightened and a pink tongue shot out to wet suddenly dry lips.

"I think Valentine's damned computer disks just about scared the Doc to death. I just gave her a sedative, but it will take a few minutes to work."

Chaos strode forwards and studied the quiet woman. The Turk had put an oxygen mask on her but the demon was pretty sure you had to be actually BREATHING for one of those to help.

His concerned rumble of "I DON'T THINK SHE HAS A FEW MINUTES" had the red head swearing and probing the white neck for a pulse.

Chaos didn't mess with the niceties. He slid a large hand over Marion's left breast. He could feel her heart still hammering away.

The other large hand snagged Reno by the back of the neck and Chaos traded placed with him.

"YOU… KEEP A HAND ON HER CHEST…IF HER HEART STOPS, YOU WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. I MIGHT ACCIDENTLY BREAK HER RIBS."

The dark one slid a hand under the Doctor's neck, all the while sending an S.O.S. down to where ever Valentine had sunk. Damn it! He was a TAKER of life, he was not mentally equipped for this kind of shit! There was no reaction from Valentine's essence. FINE…Chaos was just going to have to play this by ear. He felt Ice slip up beside him and the female slid her hand alongside his and tilted the woman's chin up at a different angle. Using his thumb, the demon forced the woman's clamped lips open, sealed his mouth over hers and tried to breath some air down her throat. There was huge resistance, it was as if scientist's muscle's were locked up.

Reno muttered quietly…

"Mother Gia…YO…you had better hurry!"

Chaos frowned and slipped his other hand under Marion's back. He crooked his fingers and as he again tried to breath for the woman, he ran a knuckle HARD down the sensitive nerves alongside her fragile spine. The Doctor's back reflexively arched, this caused her ribcage to automatically expand and the demon was able to fill her lungs. He had to repeat this twice more. The next few times he was able to easily breathe for the Vet and after a couple of minutes he felt the lips under his move, the woman actually drew some of his breath into her lungs on her own. Even though he felt she was probably able to do it on her own now, the demon gave her one more good breath, at the same time…since he WAS a depraved demon he ran his long tongue lightly over the inside of her mouth, enjoying her definitely feminine taste. Marion's head jerked back and hazel eyes flew open.

"You ASSHOLE!" This was croaked out.

Chaos licked his lips and smiled.

"UM HUM…I HAVE BEEN CALLED THAT!"

He placed his clawed hand over Reno's, pressing the both into the soft firmness of her breast. Yes, the sedative must have kicked in, her heart rate had definitely slowed. The Doc twisted, and was strong enough to try and push their hands away.

"Perverted bastards."

Reno just grinned in relief and waggled his eyebrows at the sputtering woman.

Chaos pulled the oxygen mask up and cocked his head at her.

"IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO CALL ME BEFORE I PUT THIS OVER YOUR MOUTH."

She opened her mouth…and he held a finger up.

"JUST BE SURE TO TAKE A NICE DEEP BREATH BETWEEN SWEAR WORDS."

Marion's eyes blazed.

"Mother humping…Damned…. bat winged fucker… from hell."

Gold gleamed hotly for a moment.

"HMPH…YOU SHOULD LEAVE MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS."

He popped the mask on before she could respond.

* * *

Marion's head was spinning. She wasn't sure how she had gotten to the sick bay, the last thing she remembered was Reno turning off those horrendous recorded scenes, then her realizing WHY a high ranking Turk (A.K.A. killer…assassin!) was taking such an interest in her reaction to them. For a second that overwhelming panic loomed again, but Reno had evidently given her a sedative because even though her breath caught in her throat, those traitorous muscles around her ribcage stayed relaxed. Thank the Gods, …she vaguely recalled that she had felt like something was crushing her lungs and a terrible pain had knifed through her chest as her vision tunneled to black. The next thing she knew she was clawing her way to consciousness with someone else's long, strong tongue in her mouth. There was still the smoking hot taste of an unidentified spice lingering on her lips. On its' own volition, her tongue crept out to capture what was left of that very interesting flavor. Then, she totally stopped breathing again when she realized what she was doing. HOLY SHIT!…That TONGUE had belonged to Chaos! And (she felt a blush creep up her cheeks…) Valentine's scarier than HIM, demon, had evidently been giving her mouth to mouth. He had probably saved her life, what was a little tongue in return for that? (especially one that tasted that good!) WAIT….where had that very naughty thought come from? Oh…HELL , had she really suggested that the Dark Lord of Hell did something unspeakable with his own MOTHER? Okay… now she KNEW her face was flaming. What had that red headed reprobate given her?

Totally confused, the woman forced herself to suck some oxygen down her very dry throat. She caught a flash of gold as that oddly beautiful, aquiline face turned her way. Marion found herself watching Chaos' mouth. His dark lips had been remarkably soft and she dazedly wondered what they would feel like somewhere OTHER than her….again her tongue crept out…damn her mouth was dry. The Demon just stared at her for a moment and the Vet had to suddenly focus in on her breathing. Mother Gia…Mother Gia…when whatever that TURK had given her, wore off…she was going to kick his… very attractive, tight, little ass…!

Marion snatched the oxygen mask down,

"Reno…what in the HELL did you give me?"

The red head winced and ran a hand through his hair, making a mess of his ever present pony tail.

"Um…nothing too terribly unsafe, just a mixture I use to make up for Elena after the forgotten for…" The man looked away and he shrugged. "Yo…sometimes it will drop your inhibitions a little before it REALLY kicks in…"

The Doctor just stared at the Turk…at least the man had the decency to squirm a little. Of course, the fact that Chaos had switched his attention from her to the red head might have had a little to do with that.

The dark one lifted his mobile lip, giving the man a full view of elongated fangs…

"AND JUST WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THIS...COCKTAIL...OF YOURS KICKS IN?"

"Oh….the good Doc will just get a good nights sleep…that's all. It's just….well…when I mixed this up for Elena, her anxiety had been created by rape, torture, and fear. The mix was designed to help her build up her libido along with allowing her to have thoughts about sex other than those of fear and pain. YO…I was afraid the Doc was going to die, I didn't want to play with the formula when her life could be riding on the outcome. Sooo…" here Reno ran a long, pale hand over his expressive face.. "Marion, ya might have some outrageous thoughts or impulses before you go nighty night. Might be a good idea to have someone you trust stay with ya until the sedative part of the mix hits."

Marion let her head flop back on the pillow. Hells bells…she didn't think that she really trusted ANY of this fucked up crew to stay the night with her. Really…look who she had to chose from, the Turks were a no brainer, she doubted that the Sky Captain could refrain from smoking more than a couple of minutes, let alone the rest of the night. The swordsman, Cloud, was just ..odd…she wondered idly if he carried such a large sword to compensate…Her slightly blurred gaze settled on the large, winged form of Chaos…now that might be interest….the sight of his lips twitching up in a wicked smile, brought that thought to a screeching halt…not no, but HELL no!

There was a light squeeze on her shoulder, and when she looked up, it was into Ice's concerned (and… oh …wasn't SHE just a lovely, exotic thing?) face. The Were female glanced around the medical bay with her ears flattened, then her hands flowed through a short dance. Again the female glanced around the lab and her mane sucked flat. Marion realized that Ice had volunteered to stay with her even though the female truly hated being down here. There was a sharp stab in the scientist's chest, she did not know HOW the Were could stand to even be around her after some of the things that had been done to the creature in the name of science. Marion's self skittered hastily away from that thought as the images she had watched assaulted her mind. WELL… there was no way that Dr. Marion Becket was going to make the pretty, golden Were stay down here for another second. The woman sat up, swung her legs over the edge and promptly slithered, as if she were boneless, off of her bed and on to the floor. HOLY SHIT! (note to self…find out just WHAT Reno had mixed in that injection? The man was a Genius!)

Speaking of which, she vaguely heard his soft murmur…

"Um yep…that would be the muscle relaxant hitting it's stride."

* * *

Dr. Becket had caught both males by surprise, so when her petite form disappeared over the side of the bed neither of them moved for a second. Then Chaos shifted sideways to where he could see the woman. She had crumpled onto the floor. Ice had been closer and had managed to make a half catch so that Marion was sitting with her upper body supported by the Were's strong arms. The Vet met the demon's startled golden look with a slightly glazed, hazel one of her own.

This was accompanied by a bemused shrug,

"I don't mind if Ice stays the night with me but the stress of being…here…isn't good for her or her babies. I thought we could go to my room but…" The drugged woman blinked a little owlishly.. "I can't seem to find my legs!"

Ice huffed softly and made a move as if she were going to lift the decidedly limp scientist into her arms.

Reno's, "YO…..you shouldn't…." rang out at the same time as the Galian beast's

"**HEY…that's not good for the PUPPIES!" **

Chaos's rumbling "STOP!" had the golden Were freezing with an exasperated look on her face. Reno made as if to move towards them and Marion visibly flinched.

Vincent's dominant demon growled softly as he plucked the limp Vet off of Ice's lap. Hells Bells…did these humans expect that he was going to do ALL of the nicey nice things that Valentine would? He was CHAOS for Gia's sake….just WHAT did he look like to these fools?

There was a soft internal snicker…The Galian Beast it seemed just couldn't help himself.

"**Well….from in here…you kind of look like a bat winged, two legged, blissed out DOCTOR transport."**

It did not help the Dark Lord's dignity that as they left the medical bay…they picked up an entourage. Chaos knew that Highwind and Cloud had followed him down here, but he had not counted on the fact that Whisper and Yuffie had come looking for Ice. (and those waited for cookies) And Rude had been called in by his partner. It seemed that everyone had decided to stay and keep a distrustful watch on Valentine's current usurper.

Leathery wings flicked out in annoyance (as if ANY of them could interfere with anything he might decide to do!) then folded back with a soft rustle. Ah…bugger it!

Chaos gave the woman in his arms a small shake,

"MARION…WHERE IS YOUR ROOM?"

His traitorous, expressive wings drooped as the woman didn't even open her eyes. She just hummed softly and sleepily nuzzled her face against his broad chest. There was a soft snicker…hastily turned into a cover up cough as the demon's head swiveled to catch the person DUMB enough to laugh at him.

Cid paled a little,

"Damned cigarettes….I really need to fucking quit."

Chaos just stared at the Sky Captain who nervously cleared his throat and removed his ever present smoke from his lips. The man gave a rueful shrug.

"Well Hell…I can take ya to the Doc's fricken quarters."

Yuffie followed them into the woman's sparsely furnished room. As soon as Chaos had deposited the sleeping woman on her bed, Ice started to remove her clothing. The silver and chocolate Changeling yelped and grabbed the Were's slender hands. The ninja pinned the demon with a sharp glare from honey eyes.

Chaos glanced behind himself, no one else had followed him in,

"WHAT?"

The demon had to work hard to hide his smile as the warrior child crossed her arms,

"Vincent ALWAYS turns around…HE is a gentleman."

The demon snorted,

"IN CASE YOU HAVEN"T NOTICED….I AM NOT VALENTINE!"

Yuffie gave him a bored yawn and started tapping her foot,

"I ain't got no plans, we can stand here all night ya know."

There was a soft choking sound from Ice…but hell if she didn't casually move up along side the girl and carefully copy that irritating, unconcerned pose. The Were's lovely face was schooled into the same bored expression as Yuffie's but her pale arctic eyes were laughing.

Chaos bared his canines at the pair, and both of them returned the expression. DAMN…the changeling had HUGE teeth and a spine of steel to back them. The demon felt a stab of pity for Vincent. The man didn't know it yet…but he was soooo SCREWED! SHE was going to lead him around by the Ba…ah nose…the demon doubted that his HOST would ever win in a battle of wills with this diminutive warrior child.

"FINE…"

With a soft whisper, one dark wing opened and the Dark Lord wrapped it forward and around, creating a wall. This way he could at least pretend he hadn't totally caved.

A snarled "SHUT UP, GALIAN…." nipped his subordinate in the bud before he could damage the illusion.

Actually, with the light of the bedside lamp shining through the thin but tough, membranes of his wing, the demon could see the female's silhouettes as they carefully undressed Marion. He could also hear the soft rustle of clothing as Ice shed her new clothes. Several thoughts ran through Chaos's mind. The foremost being total disbelief that He…the most feared demon in the underworld …was standing in a room with three naked females and doing NOTHING about it. Granted… one of the women was drugged and wouldn't fight, but hey he could do anything he wanted and she also wouldn't protest. Yuffie now….she would fight…she would lose… but the fight would add spice to the final act. Some rather vivid imagery ran through the demon's dark mind, with the image of Yuffie writhing, screaming and bleeding under his rampant onslaught being one of the strongest.

"**Chaos….we gave our word**…."

He felt the Galian beast shift in his mind preparing to fight his way to the surface if he had to.

Chaos rumbled,

"WE ARE DEMONS….GALIAN, THE HUMANS EXPECT US TO BREAK OUR WORD."

The other beast said nothing, but the dominant one could feel the waves of disapproval coming off of the younger being.

"AH HELL…."

With a supreme effort the Demon Lord took a tight hold on the reins of his baser needs and wrestled his darker nature back under control.

"**Chaos…I think I just felt Valentine twitch down here**."

Really…the beginning of a plan stirred to life in Chaos's mind. The demon kept a very tight lid on it. This would not work if it wasn't very real.

There was a soft touch on the outer surface of his wing and Yuffie's blunt fingered, talon-ed hand crumpled the edge and tried to pull it open.

"Everyone's covered now…you can come out."

The Demon sucked his wing tighter against his front. He needed a couple of minutes to get certain "THINGS" settled.

Yuffie, thank the Gods, didn't seem to notice his difficulties as she glanced back at the bed were Ice had cradled the sleeping Doctor in her arms and was slowly stroking her slender fingers through the Vet's fine auburn hair.

She turned her innocent gaze back to the demon and for the first time in his life, the Dark Lord had to deal with a very alien emotion….guilt.

"Should I stay here tonight?"

Okay…he just could NOT make himself implement his plan with this warrior child, it would have to be someone else that Vincent cared for.

"NO, CHILD…YOU SHOULD GO TO YOUR ROOM. VALENTINE WILL PROBABLY…NEED…YOU TONIGHT."

Topaz flame lit up the girls gaze.

"Vincent….is he okay?"

One cruel claw tipped her fine chin up.

"HMPH….THE HOST HAS NOT BEEN …OKAY… FOR A VERY LONG TIME."

The demon winced as the glitter of tears replaced the fire….

"HE IS CURRENTLY HIDING SOMEWHERE IN HERE…" the claw left her chin and lightly tapped the Demon Lord's temple,

"THE GALIAN AND I INTEND TO FORCE HIM OUT!"

* * *

see...bonus chapter!


	23. Chapter 23

OKAY! **WARNING**...**WARNING strongest WARNING **possible! There is **male** on **male**, (**SLASH**) NON consensual (**RAPE!**) sex in this chapter! I have edited it to be less graphic but still….YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. If your parents would have a problem with this… DON"T… read! There is also some very expressive colorful language from good ole Cid!

My loyal readers...I do NOT write gratuitous sex...this violent and brutal scene is an actual and important part of the story line...if you can stomach this...READ all of the way through, there is a twist at the end and the next chapter will explain it all! I am SURE that MOST of you will figure this out...I do give hints. OH and I do not OWN ANY of Final Fantasy VII, square enix holds that copyright. This is a not for profit fan fiction.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 23

Dr. Dupery sat up and arched his back, stifling the soft groan that tried to escape as stiff muscles protested. He probably would have been okay if he had just stopped after the unexpected run through Neibelhiem's deep forest. BUT, he had just NOT been able to resist using and abusing the tempting bit of flesh that they had brought back with them. He had spent a couple of hours with the blond, loosening up ALL of her various orifices…so to speak. The woman had been wonderfully tight…it would probably take a few more very rough rounds with him before she was "broken" (hehehe) in and…um…stretched enough that he could use her as the reward in his carrot and stick plan to bring the powerful Titan under control. He really wanted the bitch to last more than once with the great male.

The scientist made a final adjustment on the ornate collar that rested on the table in front of him. There was nothing like a really good bout of rough fucking to get the creative juices flowing. He casually closed a small circuit in the thing's complex electronics panel and nodded to himself in satisfaction as a long, thin, silver coated hypodermic needle slid forwards out of its' housing and released a miniscule drop of thick, clear fluid. A soft stroke of a strong, blunt fingered hand and one of the Cure Materia embedded in the piece glowed softly. Oh Yes…. The woman and her hot, beckoning entrances would be the carrot, and this little beauty…this… would be the stick!

* * *

Cid breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Yuffie slipped out of Marion's room. The pilot was not solid in his belief that Chaos would not hurt a female who was friends with Vincent. Muscles that the man had not known were tense, relaxed a fraction as the big, winged demon let himself through the door.

Reno, who had been trying to look unconcerned and nonchalant straightened up.

"Yo…is she okay?"

Chaos froze for a second, then, he looked down at himself with an odd expression on his eldritch face. That gleaming gaze lifted and stopped on Cloud.

"TELL ME…HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN MY FORM….WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE TO YOU?"

The swordsman ran a hand through his spikes.

"Um….you look like a demon…?"

The man swallowed convulsively as a spasm crossed the grey visage at the hesitancy in his answer. Dark, mobile lips lifted into a snarl, and two hot coals pinned Rude as he tried to make a quiet exit.

"AND YOU…TURK….WHAT DO YOU SEE?"

Just because the dark man usually had very little to say did NOT mean he was by any means…unintelligent.

"MAN….I see the scariest son of a bitch to walk this planet on this side of Hell's gate."

Chaos gave a slight nod,

"GOOD, THERE FOR A MINUTE I THOUGHT THAT SOMEHOW YOU PEOPLE HAD MISTAKEN ME FOR A PSYCHO ANALYST…OR WORSE…SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY CARES."

Cid just did not know what got into him….he couldn't help himself. He snorted,

"Yeah…or MAYBE the world's scariest fricken teddy bear."

Highwind's breath caught in his throat as Chaos turned to study him. For some reason, the sudden…contemplative… look that crossed those aquiline features made the hair stand to attention on the back of the sky Captain's rough neck.

* * *

Chaos might have protested being thought of as a psycho analyst, but centuries of observing human behavior (granted, mostly in the relationship of predator to prey) and the years that he had intimate access to Vincent's in-depth knowledge on how the human psyche worked, had made the demon very adapt at reading people. He had already written the Turks off as unsuitable when he came through the door. He doubted that Vincent would seriously protest ANYTHING he might do to them.(AND that pervert RENO would probably enjoy it! NOT the reaction he would be going for!)

Cloud….now he was actually a pretty good candidate. Physically, he was very attractive to the demon's…um…unbiased sexual tastes. BUT…he was also mako enhanced, not to mention the ex-SOLDEIR was full of Jenova cells. Chaos knew that he could best the swordsman physically, but to achieve his goal, the Dark One was pretty sure he would have to severely injure the man to subdue him. Also there was a good chance that what he had planned was going to cause some psychological damage….Cloud was surprisingly delicate in that department, almost as bad as the demon's Host. It very well could destroy him. Vincent might rise up in response to his friend's distress, but the gunslinger would not survive if his dominant demon caused the man irreparable harm.

The pilot's rough teddy bear comment attracted the demon's unwavering attention.

Ah…Highwind….The Sky Captain was the total opposite of the delicate looking Cloud. Cid was shorter, but surprisingly broad of shoulder and narrow at the hip. His rough cut features were not pretty…but attractive non the less and those incredible cerulean eyes reflected the sky that the man so loved. Chaos knew that the flyer hid a soft heart with his brusque mannerisms and his foul language. The Dark One also knew instinctively, that the man had an incredibly strong inner core. Cid would be able to handle SOME physical abuse as his outer shell was very strong. BUT more importantly, his resilient mind just might survive this intact.

Chaos wasn't TOTALLY positive in this assessment, but he knew that the longer Valentine stayed buried, the harder it would be to shock him out of his cationic state. The Demon was willing to take the chance. A quick shift in focus showed that the Turks and Whisper had silently departed the vicinity. Cloud was starting to relax as he came to the erroneous conclusion that Chaos meant to do no harm. He ran a long fingered hand through his mane of wayward spikes and rolled his neck as if to loosen tight muscles. Chaos hid his predatory smile as Cid made his job SOOO much easier.

"Why don't ya get some rest, Cloud. I took the shittin late shift tonight. There is no fricken reason for anyone else to feel like hell in the morning."

Ah…good, the man would be alone in the airship's darkened command center.

As the swordsman nodded and turned to stroll down the corridor, Vincent's eldest demon rolled a dark thought around in his twisted mind. Yes…HELL would be a good description of where the Sky Captain was heading!

* * *

Cid was not surprised when Vincent's dark demon followed him quietly to the command center. Vincent had spent many a sleepless night on the outside deck there, watching the night sky. Valentine's tormented soul had seemed to NEED some type of human contact, and Cid had shared many a graveyard shift with the man. Albeit, usually the time was passed in a companionable silence. Being as how Chaos was a creature of the air, it stood to reason that he too, would enjoy the feeling of flying and freedom that the little open air platform provided.

Sure enough…as the Sky Captain went about doing the various checks that were part of his routine, the demon let himself out into the night air. Cid stood for a while and just watched as the dark being took up a position that was eerily reminiscent of Valentine. Chaos stood with one hip braced against the railing, his heavily muscled arms folded. As the airship shifted and bobbed at it's mooring, those bloodied wings would lift and unfurl in an instinctive response to the movement. The Sky Captain felt a stab of envy at the creature's ability to fly.

Having finished his systems checks the pilot quietly slipped through the door, head lifting a little as the light breeze ruffled through his short hair. He carefully leaned his elbows on the railing just to the side of Chaos' dark form.

"Sooo…is Valentine going to fricken come back out soon?"

Cid held his breath as that awesome head slowly turned to study him.

"I COULDN'T SAY, HIGHWIND. THE HOST HAS BURIED HIS ESSANCE SO DEEP THAT EVEN THE GALIAN IS HAVING TROUBLE SNIFFING HIM OUT."

The Captain lit another cigarette,

"Well SHIT…that's no fucking good!"

The demon gave a slight shrug of broad shoulders, and that molten gaze settled unwaveringly on the pilot.

"I AM BEING PAINFULLY HONEST WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I TRULY DON'T CARE. AFTER ALL, THIS GIVES ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO…INDULGE...IN MY NATURAL… SHALL WE SAY… DEMONIC DESIRES."

Something shifted across that intimidating grey visage. Cid found himself unable to look away as he suddenly remembered WHY Valentine considered that Hosting THIS particular dark, ancient being made him a TRUE monster!

The demon took a quick step sideways and the man found himself trapped between the sidewall, the railing, and a wide expanse of dove grey, hard muscled chest. AWW SHIT…Vincent's dominate demon was one BIG, mother fucker. Cid was starting to have a VERY bad feeling about this. Crimson and black wings spread wide, mantling the two males and Highwind pushed back into the wall as he frantically tried to think of an escape route that did NOT include a four hundred foot drop. The demon saw his anxiety and that deep voice took on a purring tone.

"WHAT….HIGHWIND?…NO SMART ASS COMMENTS TO MAKE? HNNN…HAS YOUR FOUL VOCABULARY ESCAPED YOU?"

"Mother Gia….Vincent come on…you need to wake the fuck unnng!…."

Cid's words were cut off, as with a wicked smile, Chaos dipped his head and his thin, dark lips came down over the man's mouth. Before the Sky Captain could register what had happened, sharp fangs cut his lips and a strong tongue pushed its way inside, seemingly to follow the taste of the flowing blood. Anger flashed through the fear and Cid bit down…hard! Only to hastily release that probing tongue as a powerful hand closed over the back of his neck. Chaos had casually flexed his fingers, making the blonde's muscles spasm in pain and the bones in his neck crack…on the verge of breaking.

Chaos rumbled a sinister laugh into the mouth he was brutally kissing. He pulled back a little but gave the man no reprieve as the other talon-ed hand slid under Cid's leather jacket and down the muscled ribcage, exploring warm flesh through the thin material.

"COME NOW, NOW HIGHWIND…YOU ARE ONLY MAKING THIS HARDER ON YOURSELF. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I….LIKE….TO PLAY ROUGH!"

Long fingers crooked, claws tore through fabric and skin as with just a couple of efficient moves, Chaos had the Captain's shoulders, chest, and vulnerable belly exposed. The other hand slid off of Cid's sweating neck and stroked down, leaving a bleeding trail across twitching, rippling muscle, to stop with talon tips resting on the belt leather that encircled the flyer's hips.

"AH LITTLE BIRD….SUCH A SUCCULENT FEAST YOU OFFER ME!"

Cid suddenly realized that Chaos wasn't just screwing with him. He was totally ALONE with Vincent's darkest nightmare and…

"Oh HELL no! Vincent…you get your fucking ASS out here…"

The Captain lashed out with a foot, trying to connect with SOMETHING that might be vulnerable. Chaos caught the blow on one thick thigh, snagged Cid's knee and pulled the man's body in tight against that same thigh. The thick muscles rolled, rubbing and pressing sensitive flesh into the solid heat that the pilot could feel even through the fabric of his pants. To the man's horror, that traitorous bit of flesh broadcasted it's approval of this loud and clear. Oh NO…there was NO way he was going to give the demon the satisfaction of making him enjoy his own rape! Two work hardened fists hammered into a stomach hard enough to cause the man to gasp in pain as a couple of bones broke in his hand. Chaos grunted…and roughly trapped both fists in one large hand. He used his greater body weight to pin Cid against the wall as his other hand deftly removed the man's belt.

"HNNN HIGHWIND….MAYBE YOU MISUNDERSTOOD. PLAYING ROUGH MEANS THAT…YOU….ARE THE ONE WHO GETS TO FEEL THE PAIN."

Cid kicked, bucked and cursed but he could not prevent the Dark One from binding his hands behind his back.

"Gods be cursed, CHAOS…I am not into fricken GUYS!"

Cid wanted there to be no question of this fact, maybe he had somehow inadvertently given the demon a come on or something...Or…maybe not!

A dark chuckle shook the other male…

"THAT...IS THE POINT. IF I WANTED THIS TO BE CONSENSUAL, I WOULD BE IN THERE DOING RENO! NO…THIS VIRGIN TIGHT, UNWILLING PIECE OF ASS ACCOMPANIED BY YOUR HELPLESS AGONIZED SCREAMS, IS THE MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE PROPOSITION RIGHT AT THE MOMENT."

Chaos cocked his head and an odd look furrowed the elegant brow,

"WOULD YOU RATHER I TURN MY ATTENTION TO ONE OF THE FEMALES ON BOARD? ANY OR ALL OF THEM WOULD DO NICELY IN A PINCH!"

"Mother Gia! Ah SHIT! NO…Gods…. Valentine…FUCK…" Some of Cid's desperation was leaking through.

Chaos growled

"VALENTINE IS NOT AVAILABLE…AND YES…FUCKING …YOU…. IS… MY INTENTION!"

The demon knelt, forcing the man onto his knee's. Powerful arms pulled the Captain back, his body arched helplessly over the Dark One's bent knee. One wing flared forwards and Cid found out that particular appendage was almost as dexterous as the demon's arm. Sinew and bone locked his shoulders down, as that wicked mouth traveled down the long bleeding slashes the demon's claws had made over his heaving ribcage. The Sky Captain swallowed a scream as Chaos's rough tongue worried the torn flesh back open, increasing the blood flow. As the Demon sucked , nibbled and licked at the fresh crimson, he always stopped when hot breath and mobile lips brushed Cid's waistband. That strong, probing tongue burned like flame inside each wound until it reached that line, then it would slide delicately under the fabric as it followed the elixir of red as far as it could. A clawed hand traced up the inside of the pilot's leg and ended up resting at the crux. Cid bit his own tongue as long fingers stroked him through the fabric of his pants, the Ancient Being mixing pleasure and pain until the man was confused as to where each sensation was coming from. That confusion changed to pure panic as the Demon's hand shifted up and the swick of fabric being cut reached Cid's ears. One powerful arm lifted his hips while the other slid his pants off.

"Oh mother fucking Gia… HELL NO… DAMN IT Vince…."

Chaos frowned and a hand came up shutting cid's swearing mouth with an audible snap. The man started to thrash as best he could only to have one hand bend him further back, to the point that he thought his spine would crack. The Captain jerked as heat enveloped some very sensitive portions of his anatomy. A very light squeeze from fingers that could tear flesh from bones caused the pilot to freeze.

"I WAS THINKING THAT IT WOULD BE MORE FUN IF YOU FOUGHT ME ALL THE WAY….."

Chaos tilted his head down until his lips were brushing Cid's ear. A shudder ran over the trapped man as that black tongue flicked out, caressing the rim.

"BUT….NOW…I THINK IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING TO FORCE A STRONG WILLED MAN SUCH AS YOURSELF, TO ACCEPT THE PAIN AND HUMILIATION WILLINGLY. I WANT TO USE BOTH OF MY HANDS SO…YOU…WILL BE STILL, LIKE A GOOD LITTLE FLEDGLING."

Cid jerked his ear away from the Demon,

"Fat fucking chance!"

Chaos hummed softly and the grip shifted, from what he had been idly rolling in a broad palm to close around the base of the pilot's (much to his consternation) hardening shaft. He closed that hand with enough force that a groan ground its way out of the Captain's mouth.

"I THOUGHT YOU WOULD SAY THAT….IF YOU DO NOT OBEY ME….I WILL RAPE YOU ANYWAYS. THEN…WHEN YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A TORN, BLEEDING….. DYING….SHELL, I WILL WORK MY WAY THROUGH YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR CREW. OBEY ME…AND I WILL FOCUS MY UNDIVIDED ATTENTION ON ONLY YOU!"

That hot presence left its' place in Highwind's lap, strong fingers eased Cid's stiff, trembling legs open and settled lower. The man stiffened as a digit lightly brushed over virgin territory.

"HNNN…WHAT DO YOU SAY…HIGHWIND?" A sinister laugh rumbled in Chaos' wide chest. "DO I HAVE YOUR….CONSENT?"

Cid just stared at the sick, twisted, son of a bitch….Then he swallowed thickly, closed his eyes and nodded.

"GOOD!"

The man did not see those golden eye's flame. He DID feel the firm end of that unwanted digit swirl delicately around his rim then come to rest, pushing lightly at muscle that was instinctively clamped tight. If it were possible Chaos's rumbling voice seemed to deepen.

"SCREAM FOR ME, LITTLE BIRD."

Such was Cid's unbelieving shock, that when that tip breached him, he arched up in almost silent pain. He managed a shaky inhale as the Demon seemed to relent, easing the offending thing out a little. Only to have the air forced out in a strangled scream as that long, hard finger was brutally forced back in. Highwind clamped his teeth over the sound, as the demon hooked the digit cruelly, when it was sunk in to the knuckle.

The Dark One frowned a little.

"WHAT A PRISSY LITTLE SCREAM….YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT. NO?"

The finger pulled out and then slammed back in as the Demon entertained himself, watching pain, fear, and humiliation chase themselves across his victim's face as he was roughly finger fucked.

"AH WELL….IF I CAN'T GET A RESPECTABLE SCREAM OUT OF YOU…MAYBE I CAN MAKE YOU MOAN!"

It was taking ALL of Cid's considerable will to keep from screaming as that intrusive body part made his passage burn and …stretch. GODS…if it was this bad with just a finger….the pilot could feel the firm length of the demon's erection pressing into his side. THAT was going to kill him!

The pressure and pain increased as Chaos added a second finger. An almost scream changed to a shocked uhnnnn…as the demon stroked past a previously untouched spot deep inside him. Electricity seemed to sheet through the Captain and his hips bucked. Blue eye's sprang open…HOLY SHIT! NO….he was NOT going to enjoy this!

The golden gaze narrowed a little as if the Dark One was reading his thoughts and the demon slid his fingers in again…making a point to prod and stroke that sensitive spot as he glided past. Mother Gia! Tears of frustration made cerulean eyes glimmer as Highwind found he could not control the impulse that had his hips lifting as those two strong digits stroked inside of him.

Cid writhed in the demon's grasp and a third finger joining the others forced a moan past tight lips. …Mother Fucki….ahh! Every time those fingers entered him, it felt like his insides were being torn, BUT that sizzling electrical spark was being built into a fire that took that pain and twisted it into something that, the Flyer realized with a sickening certainty, he might be willing to beg for. He vaguely felt the demon's other hand ease between his body and the demon's waist. Then the man realized that there was now nothing between his skin and the hard, heat that waited its' turn. For pride's sake, the man managed to force words past the soft moans he was trying to stifle.

"GODS….NO…STOP! Hunnnn…."

The words were cut off as the demon's other hand surrounded sensitive flesh in a firm grip that was fever hot. SHIT…FUCK! Cid's body flat betrayed him. It responded enthusiastically to the demon's exquisite torture, caught between trying to push UP into that very experienced touch and thrusting BACK, encouraging what was taking place inside.

"YES…FUCK INDEED…HIGHWIND!"

Highwind had NO control over his body…Humiliation swept through even as moans were wrung from lips that should have been protesting. He could not stop himself from arching and thrusting into that torturing grasp as the demon drove his fingers to their full length, making those last few thrusts brutally savage as the man climaxed, a hoarse scream tearing its' way out of his raw throat.

Chaos cocked his head, enjoying the sight of the pleasure glazed, sexually spent look on his unwilling victim's face. Then before the man could pull himself out of his daze, the demon settled him on his back and moved to kneel between those strong, well shaped legs. Gold gleamed wickedly as the demon removed his fingers from where they were nestled and then held up his bloodied hand. Cid moaned softly and started to weakly squirm.

"OH YES…SOMETHING I FORGOT TO MENTION…. HIGHWIND. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY…NOT… SURVIVE THIS."

Before the man could react the Dark One caught his hips in a cruel clawed grip, lifted him and slowly pushed into the Sky Captain's body.

Highwind's back arched and his mouth opened in an almost silent scream.

GODS….Cid felt as if his spine was being crushed. As the large body over him pulled back, the pilot had a moment where he thought there would be some relief…but no… as the intruder pulled out, it felt like it was taking half of his guts with it. Pride be DAMNED…Cid screamed.

The demon watched his pain with half lidded languid eyes. Those black wings lifted, stretching out and fluttering lightly in response to their owner's pleasure. Then… with one brutal thrust Chaos drove himself in deep. His own rumbled growl mixed with Highwind's hoarse shriek of fear, and agony as fragile tissues split and tore. The demon was almost purring as the man writhed beneath him, desperately trying to escape his iron grasp. Muscles clamped in spasm and the demon thrust slowly relishing the tight heat, and incredible sensation as Highwind's body tried to force him OUT. It would not take long for the man to tear out his own voice…but…for now, his screams were a integral part of the…WHOLE…experience. Blood started to streak lazily down the demon's muscled thighs. Chaos sheathed himself to the hilt again and held, letting those hips loose a little so the body under him could buck and twist.

"HNNNN….DAMN…LITTLE BIRD. YOU ARE A TIGHT FIT.

* * *

Vincent floated in an almost suffocating darkness. Hell, he should have thought of THIS years ago. The gunman had swan dived so deep into his own mind, that even his two Demon's could not reach him. Oh, he had felt both try, but it was no more than a quiet nudge in the dark.

REALLY Chaos…little pink babies? The demon was going to have to do better than that. He was able to easily ignore the short S.O.S that filtered down to him…so the planet lost another Shinra scientist… GOOD! The planet, the fates, or probably both, seemed to have a vendetta against him. The man balled himself up tighter. They could not reach him if he stayed here and refused to come out and play. So what if Chaos trashed the planet? What had it EVER done for him. Vincent stirred as snippets of nightmare reach him. Chaos's base desire for the females he was surrounded by disturbed him a little…but he felt as the beast wrestled himself back into control. The man settled back, preparing to sleep.

Before he could sink to the depths, Vincent again was brushed by the wings of a nightmare. He "felt" a mouth under his and the faint taste of blood echoed there. He gave a mental snort…the demons had tormented his sleep for YEARS, what little that was reaching him here was not a problem. It was a ploy that was NOT going to work this time! Again a brief flash of a short struggle…ah, a rape dream….and with a male to boot. He had ALWAYS hated when Chaos chose this venue to torment him. The Dark One had some really sick and twisted tastes.

There was a push from the Galian beast, the creature actually sounded upset. **…. **

**"Not a dream…Vincent… you have to wake up! HE usually kills what he fucks!"**

This was a little unusual, the beast usually stayed out of Chaos' schemes.

Valentine unrolled and allowed himself to rise a little. The emotional feedback and physical sensations increased. He could hear what sounded like moans being forced out of a man. His groin ached…a mirror of what his dominant demon was experiencing and he could SMELL the scent of fear, lust, and blood. The gunman gritted his teeth…he was going to be hard and miserable until the damned demon found his release.

Hold it! Even for one of his demon generated nightmares, this was intense…almost as if it were….Vincent recognized the scent of cigarettes and leather at the same time he experienced the sensation of Chaos sheathing himself to the root.

MOTHER GIA…Valentine was screaming almost as loudly as Cid as he rocketed up. The ex-Turk's raging essence crashed into the barriers that Chaos used to keep him suppressed and he violently engaged the Demon Lord in a battle of wills for supremacy.

GODS…this was his fault! He gave a mental stagger as his most powerful Demon's barriers faded before him like so much mist in the morning sun. As his form finished shifting, Vincent's awareness was filled with the smell of blood and Cid's, hoarse, sobbing breaths. Opening his eyes, the ex-Turk flinched away from the sight of blood on the Captains chin….

* * *

Chaos had a fleeting moment of warning as the Galian shouted…

"**YES…here he comes, and Chaos... MAN, is he PISSED!" **

The powerful demon fought the man at his barriers, ensuring that Valentine's mind was fully engaged. Then he abruptly relented and allowed his HOST to push him DOWN. Before he disengaged from Highwind…the demon leaned over the shuddering, screaming body in his lap. Powerful arms lifted and a wing supported as the Dark One breathed into an ear, silken lips hardly moving.

"I AM TRULY SORRY…LITTLE EAGLE."

As his body started it's transformation, surprisingly gentle talons drifted out and brushed sweat matted blonde out of the Sky Captain's glazed, empty, cerulean eyes.

* * *

This one was a buggar to edit...I can only hope the next chapter will clarify things for people so that they don't go postal on me!


	24. Chapter 24

I am getting this up quickly even though I am hunting and pecking with two fingers due to an injured wrist! This chapter explains alot of what happened in the last chapter. This is a not for profit fanfiction. Square enix holds all rights to the ffvII world and its characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch 24

Vincent realized he was holding the shaking form of his friend in his arms. Something about this struck him as…not right. BUT.. the gunman was so consumed with fear, guilt, and rage at his dominant demon that he could not force his mind into logical channels.

"Chaos…you BASTARD…WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

The Dark One rose, his voice was like rolling thunder, it dripped with venom and was laced with pure fury.

"NOTHING THAT YOUR COWARDICE DIDN'T MAKE ME DO! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT… VALENTINE? I…AM…A…DEMON! IT IS EXCRUTIATINGLY PAINFUL FOR ME TO SUPPRESS OR CONTROL MY NATURAL PASSIONS. YOU WERE PUTTING ME IN THE POSITION OF HAVING TO EXIST AND BEHAVE MYSELF IN YOUR FUCKING…CIVILIZED… WORLD! OH…. I CAN DO IT FOR A SHORT WHILE BUT EVENTUALLY,…. I …WILL…LOSE…. CONTROL. IF THAT HAPPENED….YOU WOULD BE LOOKING AT SOME VERY…REAL…COLLATERAL DAMAGE!"

Real…that word strengthened the… something is off…. feeling that was forcing its way through the ex-Turk's maelstrom of emotions.

The Galian interposed his essence between his two Alpha's.

"**Vincent!…We had no choice…please clear your mind and LOOK**! **Chaos is a MASTER of nightmares, and he has had almost forty years to hone those skills to perfection with you."**

"What…?"

That stopped the gunman's racing mind for a minute.

Cid moaned softly, jerking the gunman back to awareness. He realized that he was sitting with his legs crossed, the now limp body of the Sky Captain draped across them. The man was cradled in his arms, tight against his chest. Valentine's well trained instincts kicked in and his crimson gaze did a quick assessment, triaging what damage he needed to deal with first. It took a second, but their physical position was the trigger that shifted everything into place. His last sensation before rising, had been Chaos's almost painful pleasure as he sheathed himself inside the screaming man. He had been BETWEEN Highwind's legs! After that, he had been fighting for control. Vincent knew from experience that the demon would NOT have been able to withdraw from his victim and rearrange their bodies while engaged in that battle. AND, the nightmare master most definitely had not had the time to re-dress the man!

A shudder past over Cid, his blonde lashes fluttered, and the pupils in his shadowed eyes contracted and then dilated again. He was going to wake up at any minute. Valentine noted the bound hands, and the blood on the man's lips. His light blue denim shirt was shredded and some rather deep gashes decorated the well chiseled upper body.

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose with a shaking hand.

"Chaos…quick…WHAT in that atrocity was real and what was illusion?"

The gunman felt the dark demon shift forwards a little…he knew his eyes were probably glowing as Chaos studied his handiwork.

"I HAD TO SAMPLE HIS BLOOD TO FORCE A LINK…THE INITIAL KISS WAS VERY REAL." There was a softly purred… "YOUR LITTLE EAGLE, BY THE WAY…TASTES…WONDERFUL !"

Vincent just growled his displeasure.

"UHMMM…YOU… HAVE DEVELOPED QUITE A…RESISTANCE…TO THE IMAGES I CAN GENERATE…SOOO, I HAD TO TAKE SOME DRASTIC MEASURES. FOR HIGHWIND…. THIS WAS VERY REAL…HE HAD TO TRULY BELIEVE THAT I WAS RAPING HIM IN ORDER FOR YOU TO BELIEVE IT."

The gunman shifted his friend's body a little, and used his talons to cut the leather belt binding him. As he settled the limp hands on the slowly rising and falling stomach, Valentine could feel the slight grating of broken bones in both of them.

Vincent swallowed the hot lump that suddenly threatened to choke him. The terror and pain had been real enough to Cid, that he had hurt himself trying to fight the powerful ancient demon off!

Chaos shifted, he was not use to feeling disgusted with himself. AND he had the added sting, that BECAUSE of his demonic nature….he had taken pleasure in creating that violent and, to him, HIGHLY erotic…scene. The Demon sighed…

"I AM SORRY, HOST. THE PHYSICAL ACCENTUATES THE PSYCHOLOGICAL. I…HAD…TO HURT HIM A LITTLE FOR THE EXPERIENCE TO SEEM REAL. IT WAS ALSO NECCESSARY TO STIMULATE HIS PLEASURE CENTERS AT THE SAME TIME THAT I… CREATED… THE PAIN. I TRIED TO KEEP EVERYTHING FROM THE WAIST DOWN TO JUST…SUGGESTIVE…TOUCHING THROUGH HIS GARMENTS."

"Mother FUCKING Gia…Chaos…this kind of SHIT, can destroy a person's sanity!"

The use of language more appropriate for Cid, clearly emphasized Valentine's state of mind

The demon sadly watched as his Host carefully straightened out the bones in those broken hands. Because the distressed man was still very shaky….Chaos trickled a little of his dark power through to augment the low level Cure that Vincent cast.

The Demon was watching Highwind very closely.

"YES…I TOOK THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN I CHOSE HIM FOR THIS. VINCENT… YOU MIGHT WANT TO BE ON ALERT…HE IS GETTING READY TO WAKE U…"

Glazed blue cleared and Highwind blinked. Dilated pupils constricted at the sight of glowing gold on crimson and Cid flung himself, screaming, off of Vincent's lap. The gunman made a frantic grab, barely snagging a pants leg as the panicked man almost shot underneath the bottom rail and into empty sky below. Chaos launched forwards, then settled back as Vincent hissed at him. The man immediately released his restraining grip on his friend's leg when the pilot shrieked, crabbed sideways, and ended up huddled tight against the wall. His breath came in shuddering gasps and as the gunman moved slowly towards him, a hoarse whine escaped from his scream damaged throat.

The ex-Turk stopped his forwards movement and just knelt, talking to the one he considered his closest companion in a low, soothing voice.

"Chief…it's me…Vincent. You are safe…its okay Cid….you… are okay…."

The Captain had talked the nightmare tormented gunman down many times as he tried to pull himself out of horrendous demon induced dreams. Vincent took a page out of the remarkably caring man's book, patiently waiting as he murmured quietly, fiercely hoping that the man could pull himself out of the created dreamscape.

* * *

Pain, fear, humiliation, RAGE…these all shuddered through the man as his vision cleared and all he saw were wickedly gleaming golden red eyes. Animal instinct kicked in, and Cid scrambled. He did not see the almost fatal drop…..he did not see the pale face of his best friend. All he saw was the shadowed winged form of the demon who had HURT him. The feeling of being helpless, the stark vision of that horrendous tearing impalement, and the residue of the raging fire in his lower back and inside his belly had him almost screaming as the shadow approached. As he warily watched his tormentor, Cid realized that words were getting through, barely heard over the hammering of his racing heart.

"Chief…you are all right…please…you know me…it's Vampy…you remember Vampy…don't you?

The image in front of him wavered…those were NOT wicked gold eyes. A touch of amusement shifted some of the terror. Gods, Vincent HATED that nickname….WAIT, that was VINCENT…somewhere in his confusion Cid KNEW that seeing Valentine was a GOOD thing. His blonde head shot up…and anger narrowed those cerulean eyes.

"I am NOT okay…it HURT…you…"

Sorrow shook Cid's fragile core as he saw something in his friend shatter. ALL of the light bled out of those crimson eyes, leaving them flat and dead.

"GODS…Chief…I am sorry…"

This was almost whispered.

NO…that wasn't right…Cid shook his head, trying to clear the fog. His cracked voice was almost a sob,

"NO…not you…HE…did THINGS to me. I was…he… I am torn, he said I would die!…I am…..

…still in my pants?"

Hold a moment…the Captains mind scrambled around like a rat on a wheel. His pants were most definitely on, unbuttoned but still ON…and the part of him that had taken the most abuse…wasn't bleeding, HELL it wasn't even hurting.. A quick glance confirmed that the only blood in sight was on his chest. The Sky Captain slowly straightened up, one hand explored the stinging wounds on his chest. Valentine cautiously rose with him.

Cid held that hand up and his rough voice was shaking….

"Vincent? WHAT in the HELL is going on?"

The Captain watched his friend sag a little, then he listened with growing disbelief as the ex-Turk explained about Chaos, nightmares, and the Demon's TALENT for creating them.

Cid knew he would be lucky if he EVER got his eyebrows down to their normal positions. As if ANYTHING would ever be normal again?

"THAT was a shitting NIGHTMARE…but what I FELT was so fucking real?"

Valentine hugged himself and shrugged slightly, he seemed unwilling to meet the other man's eyes .

"Chaos has access to ALL of my memories…what I have physically… experienced…he can recreate."

Cid flinched as he realized that the returned glimmer he could see in Vincent's bloody gaze was not… life, it was unshed tears. The last words he had to lean forwards to hear.

"Hojo wasn't the ONLY monster down in the labs. There were a surprising number of "individuals" who had no aversion to raping a helpless, wide awake, strapped down…specimen."

Highwind could not help himself. The hollow ring of Vincent's deep voice brought the whole vile scene, that he was TRYING like HELL to suppress, roaring to the front of his mind. GODS…Valentine had experienced YEARS of that kind of shittin horror and pain! AND had a fricken demon who kept dragging it up in nightmare form (with demonic embellishments, the captain was sure) for decades! The Captain felt Vincent's warm hand rubbing his back in slow circles as he leaned shakily over the rail and emptied his stomach.

When he was finished, he spat to clear his mouth and stayed where he was…staring blindly into the darkness.

"Why me, Vince…how come Chaos chose to do this to me?"

There was a long silence and the Sky Captain knew that the ex-Turk was talking to his most powerful demon. Vincent sighed….

"Cid…Chaos asks if he can explain himself?"

Mother Gia…just the thought caused his body to start shaking and he had to squelch the panic that made him want to run…..He could hear Valentine murmuring and knew that the man was arguing with his permanent "guest. IT DID NOT HAPPEN! Cid kept trying to convince his body of this. DAMN IT! He was fricken CIDNEY HIGHWIND…he was stronger than this!

The man cursed himself silently when his voice shook.

"He is not going to…come out…is he?"

"No… Cid…he doesn't want to upset you anymore than he has already."

The Captain took a deep shuddering breath.

"Yeah…sure…I will listen to him."

That eerie gold gaze made the man's skin just CRAWL…but he made himself hold his ground.

"CIDNEY HIGHWIND…IF I AND THE GALIAN HAD LEFT THE HOST WHERE HE HAD BURIED HIMSELF FOR MUCH LONGER, THERE WAS A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT I WOULD NEVER AGAIN BE ABLE TO WAKE HIM. I WAS ALMOST POSITIVE THAT IF I…HURT…ONE OF HIS COMPANIONS IN THIS WAY, THE SHOCK WOULD DRIVE HIM OUT. YOU ARE…REMARKABLY STRONG. I FELT THAT YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE OF HIS DYSFUNCTIONAL GROUP OF FRIENDS THAT HAD ANY HOPE OF GOING A ROUND WITH ME AND SURVIVING WITHOUT LETHAL PSYCHOLOGICAL REPERCUSSIONS. I HAD HOPED I WOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE IT AS FAR AS I DID, BUT, VALENTINE CAN BE…SHALL WE SAY…STUBBORN."

Cid had to suck in a panicked breath as Vincent's body stepped towards him. Chaos' gaze never left the Captain's face as he lifted the gunman's hand and lightly touched one of the slashes on Cid's abused ribcage.

"I SAID THIS BEFORE, LITTLE EAGLE, BUT YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD ME…I TRULY APOLOGIZE FOR THIS NIGHT'S WORK…"

Highwind had flat quit breathing…he had never seen the demon's eyes turn that particular warm amber color before.

A green glow shimmered around the hand resting on his chest.

"MAY I…?"

At Cid's hesitant nod…the Demon Lord powered up a Cure. As he removed his hand from the now whole flesh… He quietly murmured.

"I ONLY WISH I COULD REMOVE THE MEMORY OF THE PAIN AND HUMILIATION THAT OCCURRED TONIGHT AS EASILY FROM YOUR MIND."

Something flashed as crimson replaced the gold.

"JUST SO YOU KNOW, I WOULD …NOT…ERASE THE MEMORY OF THE PLEASURE."

* * *

As the slow hours of early morning passed…the rising sun saw one male forced into his mate's bed by the other…only AFTER promises were made that he would stay amongst the warm and the living. Yuffie wrapped her soft body around her lover and wondered why the man shuddered and then wept.

The other…spent a very long time in the shower. Cid leaned against the wall, letting the hot water pound down on his back. Part of him felt horribly violated…even if the penetration had not been real…his mind shuddered at the very real MEMORY of pain. Worse yet…the insidious memory of the sensations of pleasure/pain that the demon had evoked caused recalcitrant flesh to stir and harden. The Sky Pilot growled a little in frustration. He must be one SICK fucker! With a soft sigh, the Captain ran a slow hand over himself and picked up the soap.

Little Eagle…he rather liked that term of endearment. (and there was no question in his mind… that IS what it was!) For the first time in his adult life Cid felt a slight sense of shame as he stroked himself to release. It was NOT Shera that his confused mind wove into his fantasies.

* * *

Those of you who are reading this and not reviewing...Chaos is out looking for you!


	25. Chapter 25

This is a not for profit fanfiction. Square enix holds all rights the the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story.

The Orphan's of Cerberus Chapter 25

Yuffie stood on her hind legs, leaned on the door frame leading into the bathroom, and folded her arms. Shadowed, honey eyes followed the wisps of steam as they swirled through the damp air. The Changeling idly admired the slender silhouette of Vincent's body that she could see through the shower curtain, as the man stood almost motionless under the hot spray. The fact that the ex-Turk did not seem to realize she had even opened the door spoke volumes as to his state of mind. Something had really thrown the dark gunman into a tailspin and the girl was desperately trying to think of a way to pull him out of it before he slammed into the ground and shattered himself.

Strong talons tapped a nervous tattoo against a chocolate striped forearm. WHAT had happened last night? It had to have something to do with Chaos. The gunman was always on edge when the big demon was active but this was far beyond his usual moody behavior. Yuffie had seen Valentine angry, and upset…she had even seen the man shed a tear when he was in the cave with Lucrecia. She had NEVER seen him weep like he had done that night in her arms. He had refused to answer any of her worried questions, and she had stopped prying when he had brokenly apologized and just turned his back to her. The young woman had folded herself around his long frame as best she could and just held him, thinking that Vincent seemed more like a lost soul now than he ever had before. If she wasn't careful, she was going to lose him as he sank back into his own personal hell.

A soft sigh escaped thin lips and Yuffie felt her tail coiling nervously around her waist as the shadowed form reached out and turned the water off. Yep…the man was NOT himself, he startled as he opened the curtain and saw her standing there. Actually, with Valentine…it was more a hesitation and widening of crimson eyes, most people would not have caught it. But the ninja had no problem interpreting those subtle signs. Over the years, she had made a study of reading the man.

He recovered without even blinking.

"Yuffie…it's very early, shouldn't you still be in bed?"

The ninja gave what only could be described as a very unladylike snort.

"Hey if you can be up at the butt crack of dawn, so can I. Sides…. Somebody told me that you make a, and I quote, fricken wicked …peel the damned skin off your tongue, drag your ASS outta that fuckin coffin, gods be damned… SOMEONE… wake me up… cuppa Jo?"

One elegant eyebrow crooked up.

"That SOMEBODY wouldn't be Cid…would it?"

Yuffie stifled a snicker…

"Yeah, the old fart sure has a way with words…don't ya think?"

"Yes, he most certainly does."

For a precious second, light glimmered in Vincent's eyes and the feelings he had for the Sky Captain warmed his deep voice. Then, it was almost like a spasm of pain crossed the man's face and the spark dimmed, leaving the crimson as dark as old blood.

The Changeling unfolded her arms and stepped forwards to lay a warm hand on that pale, water dappled chest.

"Vincent, if you are stressing about vacating and allowing Chaos out last night, don't. He really was very civilized…he didn't POUND Cloud or anything. As a matter of fact, he probably saved Dr. Beckett's life. The big, winged jerk has even been really NICE to me, helping me when I was airsick and even though he thinks I am a child (well he calls me, a warrior child…) he is really…."

Valentine moved so fast that the ninja was still prattling on before she realized he had her shoulders in an almost painful grip. The obviously distressed gunman started to roughly shake her.

"Gods… Yuffie…stay away from him! That dark one is NOT nice! You can NOT trust the beast. Even if he SEEMS civilized, NEVER…FORGET…Chaos is a Gods cursed DEMON. Under the right circumstances, he would not hesitate to maim you…hurt you…or, Gods forbid, RAPE you. The BEST that you could hope for is that he finishes his fun quickly and then kills you!"

The man punctuated his statements by shaking the girl hard enough that Yuffie was starting to see double.

The young woman didn't say a word so stunned was she by the raw panic present in that usually stoic voice. She did close her own powerful blunt fingered hands over his wrists, not releasing them when he realized what he was doing and tried to stumble back.

"Vince…please…,"

Yuffie's words froze in her throat as she caught a flash of gold in the red, she did not see Chaos rage or demonic hate, what she saw in that subtle glimmer was a deep sorrow. Then…it was gone, and what was left was just…broken.

"Promise me Yuffie…"

This was a ragged whisper as the gunman placed his hands on either side of her head, flat against the wall and rested his damp forehead in the crook of her neck and shoulder…

"I couldn't bear it if …I…HE…hurt you! PLEASE…promise me…!".

For once in her short life, Yuffie was at a loss for words. What in the nine HELLS had happened!

The girl drew a deep breath and gently rubbed her hands in circles over the scarred back. Her sensitive fingers faltered when they grazed over the long ridges that twisted over the man's shoulder blades on either side of the strong spine.

"Okay…Vincent, I promise that I will be always be on my guard if I have to deal with anything that currently resides in your body other than you. Will that do?"

The dripping hair shook and spattered cold water on her as the man whispered.

"Me too, Yuffie…you have to be careful around me also…"

The Changeling clamped down on the snarl that tried to escape…DAMN.. she THOUGHT that they had gotten past this a LONG time ago!

"Okay, Vince….whatever you say."

Vincent took a ragged, shuddering breath and pushed himself away from her. One long fingered hand reached past her and plucked a towel off the rack. Yuffie was suddenly very aware of the total naked package on display in front of her. The beast side rose, and the little ninja had to ruthlessly squelch the sudden desire to lick every drop of water off of that tall frame. NOW was not the time! Yuffie was incredibly thankful that this current form could not blush, else the White Rose would have been deepest scarlet.

A soft …ahem…jerked her gaze from where it had …settled…. back up to Valentine's lovely alabaster face.

"So…do you still want that coffee?"

* * *

Cid gave up on sleeping after the second drop into nightmares. HELL… the ones his OWN mind was coming up with were ALMOST every bit as bad as the one Chaos had inflicted on him. At least the demon generated one had provided some pleasure! (wanted or NOT!)

The Captain ended up in the galley, perusing his collection of teas. He was trying to decide between something soothing, to ease his wired up nerves…or something stimulating to compensate for the lack of rest. Piloting the great airship was NOT as easy as he made it look. He could not afford to be drowsy at the wheel navigating over and through these mountains! With a heartfelt sigh, the man settled on the stimulant. He was no fricken Vincent Valentine that he could function for days without sleep!

Highwind was up on his toes digging the box out of the back of the cabinet when a blue clad arm reached past and plucked it out for him. SHIT! Highwind jerked back and sideways almost falling in his surprise. His hip slammed into the hard form of Rude, and the Turk automatically reached out to steady the Captain. Cid could not help himself…he flinched away from the physical contact. DAMN! He was trapped between the counter the wall, and the rather intimidating bulk of Shinra's guard dog. HELL… he had not realized that Rude was this big!

That dark brow twitched down a notch…

"You okay Highwind?"

"I am FUCKIN fine! Mother Gia…do you fricken TURKS always have ta sneak up on a body like that. Ya nearly gave me a shitting heart attack!"

Okay…maybe something stimulating WASN'T a good idea. Cid's nerves were practically thrumming. He took a shaky step back only to run into the wall…his insides suddenly twisted as flashes of being this close to another male and unable to get away, rolled through his mind. Rude tilted his head slightly and the pilot got a glimpse of slightly narrowed chocolate eyes as the Turk backed up a pace. Cid balled a hand into a fist, and hissed out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding…DAMN IT ! It was just a fricken nightmare! Why was he having such a hard time getting his brain to believe that? The Captain watched as Rude schooled his face back into its' usual unreadable mask. Hells bells….did the Turk suspect what had (frick… HADN'T) occurred last night between him and Chaos? Of the two…this was the Turk that probably had the insight and intelligence to figure it out! Oh that was just the icing on the cake. The Captain was having enough trouble sorting out where he stood on his sexuality WITHOUT everybody on the Gods be Damned ship figuring it out before HE did!

Rude carefully reached out with the box of tea, his body relaxed and nonthreatening.

Cid took it and gave the Turk a sheepish smile.

"Sorry bout snappin at ya, been up all damned night.

The big man just cocked an inquiring brow and stepped back.

"Nightmares….bad ones." was all the Captain said.

* * *

Vincent visibly winced as he walked in and caught Highwind's last statement. The gunman had not expected anyone other than Yuffie and himself to be up at this early hour. Of course, he chastised himself, at least one of Shinra's best would be up at all times. It was the Turk's job to keep an eye on things. Cid glanced his way and hastily busied himself at the counter. The ex-Turk surreptitiously watched his friend, a trick well honed by his years as a Turk, while he went about making some coffee. What he saw alarmed him. The Captain's usually tanned face was markedly pale, and there were tense lines furrowing the high brow. Vincent also noticed the grey smudges under shadowed blue eyes and around Highwind's unusually quiet mouth. The pilot's movements as he put the teapot on to boil were….careful, as if the man was holding himself together by strength of will alone.

Anger stirred and it was directed towards himself and his dominant demon. Self recrimination made the gunman lash out at the monster he hosted.

"Mother Gia …CHAOS…does that look like he is dealing…."

A softly rumbled sigh cut him off mid sentence.

"SHUT UP… VALENTINE….I HAVE EYES. WE BOTH SHARE THE BLAME IN THIS…SO DON'T BE RIDING MY ASS!"

Concern and surprisingly, sorrow, wove through the dark voice in equal measures. It effectively shut down the rage that Valentine was directing towards the demon. Vincent closed his eyes, wishing like HELL that he had never been dug out of his coffin in the first place. He didn't need the demon to remind him that the events that occurred last night were a direct result of his actions. The Dark One might be willing to share in the blame but the reality was…HE, Vincent Valentine, was the one at fault here. Cid was the one paying the price for his cowardly actions.

"DON'T GO THERE, HOST…"

Chaos shifted… uncomfortable in this new role of giving support rather than being his usual hateful self.

"NO ONE CAN BLAME YOU FOR WANTING TO GET AWAY FROM THE CLUSTER FUCK THE GODS ARE MAKING OUT OF YOUR EXISTENCE. JUST SO YOU KNOW…I PERSONALLY INTEND TO…DISCUSS…THIS, WITH A FEW OF THEM THE NEXT TIME I SEE THEM."

The Demon sent a couple of images his way as to what he planned on doing to said Gods and Vincent had to work hard to squelch a particularly nasty smile of his own. He almost felt sorry for them…almost.

Curious… he just couldn't help himself, after all, these were Gods they were talking about.

"Are you powerful enough to really do that?"

"PLEASE…THE ONLY REASON I CAN'T DO IT NOW, IS I AM CONSTRAINED BY …YOUR …PHYSICAL BODY."

Yuffie had come into the galley and Valentine was not surprised when the Changeling froze and looked hard at Highwind. The gunman knew from experience that the young woman was VERY good at reading the subtle nuances of body language. As her honey eyes flicked his way and narrowed, those mobile lips lifted in a slight snarl. Vincent wondered if she had put two and two together, he wouldn't put it past her. As Cid turned and started rummaging through the fridge, the girl slid up beside him and deftly filched the egg carton right out of his hands.

A firm hip nudged the Sky Captain out of the way..

"You go and sip your tea old man…me and Rude, we'll make breakfast this morning."

The Turk just stared at her for a minute then he shrugged and turned towards the stove.

"You prep, I'll do the actual cooking…we wouldn't want to poison anyone, or Gods forbid, set Highwind's baby on fire."

The Captain didn't complain or blister the air at the ninja's high handed take over of his kitchen as he normally would have. He just put some sugar in his tea and shambled over to the table. Chaos growled softly at the lack of spirit in the man.

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

This was directed softly at the demon…the gunman could not BELIEVE he was asking Chaos for help in this.

The Dark One was silent as he studied the pilot through Vincent's eyes.

"NO…VALENTINE…I REALLY THINK CID WILL HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH THIS ON HIS OWN….AND I STILL BELIEVE HE IS STRONG ENOUGH TO DO THIS."

Vincent hastily looked away as Cid caught him staring. The pilot froze, then glanced down at the tea in his hand.

"Hey Vince…you wouldn't be making that sludge you call coffee… would ya?"

* * *

Marion came back to the real world slowly. For a confused second she wondered how she had gotten into her own bed, and WHO did the warm, soft body she was pressed up against, belong to? The hand that was draped over a softly moving ribcage lightly brushed over satiny fur. Ah, Ice was sharing her bed, hmmm, now why was that? AH SHIT….memory of those horrendous computer records and a frightening trip to the Medical Bay came screaming to the front of her mind. Then, because there was no shock to cushion and no drugs to block them, the emotions of the night before caught up with the Vet. The woman tucked her forehead down against that broad, strong back she was facing and tried to stifle her sobs a little as the hot tears flowed.

GODS…how could anyone who claimed to be a human being commit those atrocities on ANY living creature? Let alone ones as sensitive and intelligent as the Troop! And what about Valentine's claim, of having been turned into an unwilling "specimen" along with Cloud? The silver lacework of scars she had seen on his torso and back were certainly evidence enough that he wasn't exaggerating. And she found it hard to believe that ANYONE would be a… willing… Host for something as frightening and dangerous as Chaos!

Mother Gia…what had she gotten herself roped into? The woman had NO delusions as to why the Turks were with them….She couldn't just quit. And there was NO way in HELL she was going to torture Whisper and Ice. Marion closed her eyes and stuffed the blanket against her mouth, not wanting to wake her bed companion with her emotional outburst. What was she going to DO?

There was a soft rustle. The scientist stiffened a little as Ice huffed softly and rolled over. Strong arms gathered her up and the Doctor found herself cradled and then rocked gently as long fingers stroked through her hair and down her back. The woman felt an odd rumbling vibration deep in the cinnamon female's chest, but the only thing that escaped her mouth was a soft shushing sound.

HELL… this only made the Vet feel worse,

"ICE….Ice…WHAT are you doing here?"

Marion knew that the Were could not answer her…and this fact made her cry all the harder.

"Yuffie told me you CHOSE to leave your home and come with Valentine. Hell…from what she said, you showed them the route! How could you make that decision…. how can you even be around us with some of the things Shinra did to you and your family?"

The words were muffled, trapped in that silky, sweet smelling mane. WHICH… was now more than a little wet.

"Why don't you hate ALL of us?"

Strong fingers slipped under her chin and Marion allowed the cinnamon female to lift her face out of its warm, but soggy pillow. There was a huff of warm breath and the woman flinched in surprise when a soft, dry tongue stroked across her cheek, then very gently over her closed eyes. The Vet knew that this was intended to be a gesture of comfort and it was, strangely enough, very soothing. The effect was ruined though when there was a loud rumble from the vicinity of Ice's flat belly. Marion's eyes popped open and she had to stifle a giggle.

"That had better not be your stomach agreeing with your tongue about how good it thinks I taste?"

Ice reached out, poked the woman a few times in the ribs. When she was sure she had Marion's attention, the female solemnly shook her head. Giving the Vet a wicked grin, she distinctly mouthed the words.

"_No…you are way too skinny to eat!"_

It was later, after she showered, that Marion found herself in the galley being waited on by Yuffie and, will wonders never cease, Rude. The big Turk it seemed, was a wiz in the kitchen. It only took a couple minutes of whispered conference with the Changeling for the quiet man to whip up a delightful breakfast for herself and Ice. Reno and Whisper had evidently come down shortly before her and they were almost finished. Hell, could that male put some food away…and NO, she didn't mean Whisper. For a skinny guy, Reno could pack it away! Cloud was not eating but he had helped himself to a cup of coffee. He took a sip and jerked like he had been shot. Sending a dark (well if sky blue could ever really be Dark) glance Vincent's way the swordsman poured about half a carton of cream, then ladled several huge spoons of sugar into his cup.

The Captain was also there but the man did not seem to feel well. Highwind was unusually quiet she noticed, and NOT eating. He just sat and sipped at the incredibly strong coffee that Vincent had whipped up. The Vet found herself wishing that the gunman had been around when she was pulling all-nighters in Vet school. Mother Gia…this wicked black brew was probably the reason the demon ridden man never seemed to sleep. The pilot looked like he needed the pick me up. For that matter…Something OTHER than her difficulties must have occurred during the night. Yuffie kept shooting concerned glances between the Sky Captain and the gunman. Marion frowned as she too, studied the demon ridden man. Vincent was sitting quietly at the end of the table…pushing food listlessly around on his plate. Valentine was even paler than usual, and those usually brilliant eyes were distant, dark, and flat. The porcelain skin around them was shadowed. More telling then this, was the fact that the long, leather clad fingers that were holding the fork, had a very slight tremor.

With a sigh, the Doctor pushed her plate back.

"Gentlemen….we seem to have a problem."

Marion pinned Reno with a hard look,.

"It seems that I can't quit…but I REFUSE to follow the procedural guidelines on the tests that the main lab wants performed on Ice and Whisper."

Vincent's head snapped up. Cloud also jerked to attention. The Vet noticed that sky blue eyes sure as Hell could blaze. Valentine carefully set his fork down and Marion knew that Chaos was active by the way hot gold glimmered in the crimson glare he sent Reno's way.

One long sharp talon skewered the table top.

"Dr. Becket…if you wish to end your employment with Shinra, Chaos and I would consider it a…pleasure…to help you ."

Marion watched in utter fascination as Reno turned stark white. Rude shifted his bulk into a more defensible position.

Valentine smiled….it was a nasty smile, full of sharp, white, elongated fangs.

"As a matter of fact, Chaos has volunteered, and I quote, to remove everything that even hints of Shinra off of the face of the planet, if you wish to…ah…terminate…your contract."

The Doctor heard Rude softly whisper….Mother Gia!

Valentine heard him too.

"Chaos also asks me to remind you that YOU are all Ice, Whisper, and Yuffie have….you will at least treat them with kindness and respect. If you quit, he will not allow his …children… to be raised in a Shinra lab."

CHAOS' children…Oh GODS! She had assumed that one of Ice's brother was this litters' sire. She had a sinking feeling that the Dark One would not hesitate to destroy anything that he felt was a threat to Ice's babies. No… she did not want to be responsible for a blood bath and she was sure that was where this was heading. The Vet rubbed her aching head with a shaking hand.

"No I am not a quitter…but I could use some help in figuring a way to get these tests done…without causing my friends any discomfort."

Reno snorted softly…

"YO...Let me see that list."

Marion wordlessly handed ALL of them a copy. Reno's red brows lifted.

"HEY…Says here you need a sperm sample from Whisper…what's so terrible bought that."

The man stared in shock as Whisper flashed to beast form, bared his teeth and planted his ass on the floor, tail tucked tight. Vincent and Cloud hunched in on themselves while Cid looked on with interest.

Valentine pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Reno…they get the sample by electrically stimulating your prostate."

At the Turks look of...what's so bad about that...the gunman growled.

"It is the equivalent of having your EMR shoved up your ass and then switched on high."

Oddly enough it was Highwind that stiffened up in outrage,

"That is fucking Barbaric!"

The Turk's lips pulled down into a grim line and those pale eyes flashed.

"YO…fucking…barbaric don't even come close!"

The redhead was very familiar with how his weapon worked, it did not take much for him to imagine how using it in that matter would feel.

"Is that really how it's done Doc?"

Marion nodded.

"AND they don't anesthetize the specimen to do it."

"Mother Fucking Gia…fricken scientists…" Cid jerked himself shakily to his feet. "I gotta go get my shitten pre-flight checks done…HELL…"

Cerulean eyes touched on Vincent's face for a moment, reading the fact that this had been done to his friend MANY times down in the labs. The sound of the blonde's heartfelt swearing drifted down the hallway long after he had left.

"Yo…"

Reno brought the Vet's attention back to him.

"I can make sure ya get the sample ya need…and I won't hurt Whisper to get it…unless he wants me to."

Red brows waggled at the White.

Marion had to be sure he understood.

"Reno….I need samples from both his human form AND his beast form."

The Turk casually stood up.

"Hell …no problem Doc…what kind of friend would I be if I didn't accept ALL the parts that make Whisper special."

The big White grinned as Reno ruffled his mane,

"Come on big guy…we gotta date.."

The Vet cleared her throat as they got to the door and when Reno turned, one brow cocked inquisitively, the Vet knew she was bright red.

"Reno…don't bottom."

Both red brows flew up.

Marion bit the bullet and bulled through.

"Use protection and DON"T bottom….if you should tear, there would be a fluid exchange…."

Pink lips pursed a little as Reno digested this.

"Yo…I get it."

The man lightly cuffed a broad shoulder and Marion found herself joining Yuffie as they dissolved into a fit of giggles at Reno's comment to the plainly excited Were drifted through the empty doorway.

"Come on Whisper…lets go play… MAD… Doctor."

* * *

LUCKY LUCKY Whisper...for that matter Reno too! hehehehe


	26. Chapter 26

This is a not for profit fan fiction. I make no money from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters, I am just playing with them for a while. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story line.

The Orphans' of Cerberus Chapter 26

Tseng allowed a small frown to crease his forehead as he watched Dr. Destinie exit his office. The grandmotherly scientist was a favorite amongst the research staff and not just because of her brilliance. Most people just seemed to naturally LIKE the woman. The Turk though, had not risen to the top of his department by relying on other people's opinions. Hojo could be DAMNED personable and charming when he made the effort. After all…Valentine had been one of the best and the scientist had managed to trick Veld's Second into letting his guard down long enough to fatally shoot him.

Tseng trusted no one. He had personally researched the woman's background when Rufus had hired her. The Doctor's credentials had been impeccable. Which was why the Turk had a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. The report that he had received from Reno corresponded with the information that Angelique had just relayed to him except for one very crucial fact. His second in command had been VERY apprehensive when he informed his boss that the female Were named Ice was pregnant and the litter had been sired, acknowledged and CLAIMED by Chaos. Mother Gia….if there was one thing that Tseng had learned in his dealings with the only LIVING retired Turk…it was that you did NOT piss off the mans' dominant demon. This was a fact that could make this whole situation blow up in EVERYBODY'S face….a fact that Angel had made no mention of.

Manicured fingers tapped lightly on the desktop, the only sign of how worrisome the man found this. Eyes so deep brown that they almost seemed black, narrowed in thought. This could only mean one of two things, either the head of Shinra's Biological Research program was neglecting to include some very important facts in her report. OR…Dr. Beckett, the Vet that Angel had personally hand picked, (yes, the Turk was WELL aware of this fact) to care for the "specimens" was not sending HER boss all of the facts. Now…why would this be? Could it be that the young woman, (and yes…. Elena had… ahem….vetted her.) was like Tseng in the fact that SOMETHING about the elderly Dr. Angelique set ALL of his little alarm bells and whistles off? Of course…Marion was dealing with not one but TWO of Hojo's prime experiments. Being around Cloud and Valentine for ANY length of time seemed to make people very…shall we say….uneasy about Shinra's Biological research. The spectacular failure of the Corporation's Bio-genetic engineering weapons program had left people with a bitter taste in their mouths, fear in their hearts, and monsters on their doorsteps.

The former President had been obsessed with creating an army of enhanced, intelligent, and most of all, EXPENDABLE biological weapons. He had funded the Cerberus program in the hope that with a boost of human DNA these powerful Were creatures could be trained and molded to be the "cannon fodder" or front line shock troops of his army. It wasn't so much that the man had wanted to save human lives. No, it was more cost effective to use animals that did not have to be paid. And if they had been successful, when the SOLDIER program came on line, The Firsts and Seconds could have been saved for high level missions and the Thirds would have been replaced by Weres. Even though the project had been considered a failure, and the creatures had to be tanked due to their uncontrollability plus their Achilles heel, a fatal silver allergy. Hojo had used the knowledge gained from the research to make some massive leaps in his human genetic experiments.

The leader of the Turks went over Reno's report in his head. Tseng had been under the impression that Dr. Destinie considered the specimens nothing more than animals with a high degree of intelligence. The impression he was receiving from his Second was something different entirely. Reno played the fool more often then not. Tseng knew that this was a ruse used to throw people off. The red head was a cunning, totally ruthless adversary and, where as his loyalty was unquestionable, his superior was getting an odd vibe from the man about this particular situation. When pressed on the matter, Reno had very seriously recommended that maybe his boss should come to Neibelhiem and make his own judgment on the two…. specimens. This rather surprised Tseng. but he was taking the suggestion seriously. Reno was an incredibly intelligent individual and the older man had learned to pay attention on the rare occasion that his Second was being serious.

They could not afford to make any mistakes with this. If it turned out that the information that his team had passed up to him was correct….and the Weres were more than JUST animals…well…that would mean that the former President had pretty much wiped out a sentient species! This would NOT be well received by the public. Especially after the Cetra fiasco! Rufus was trying to take the high road and repair the damage to the planet AND the Company's image caused by his father's lack of morals. The boy was beset on all sides, by powers jostling to fill the void left by the mighty power company's collapse, by the public, who had suffered at the Tyrant Corporations bloody hands, AND by individuals who would like nothing more than to see everything Shinra related, dead and buried. There was no trust and if they handled this business in the wrong manner it could be the final nail in Rufus's coffin.

Tseng ran a hand over his dark hair and adjusted his jacket as he rose. Maybe a meeting was in order. He could not leave the boy's side, his teams were spread too thin and his presence was needed to insure the President's safety. Still….it would be good P.R. for the only surviving heir to pay a visit to the town that Shinra's Silver General had totally destroyed. Rufus might find a trip to see the autumn colors in Neibelhiem a welcome diversion from the considerable stress of restructuring and running his late fathers' crippled empire.

* * *

Dr. Duprey closed the last lock on the collar he had placed around Shadow's thick neck. The beast had been very much awake as skin was sliced and cruel silver hooks were embedded into muscle and around bone. These razor edged…accessories… were placed in such a way that if the creature tried to pull the collar off, he would not only shear through his spinal column but also rip out his own throat. The scientist carefully wiped the flowing crimson away from his handy work and watched in satisfaction as the ravaged tissue closed around the metal. The man took immense pleasure in the fact that he had designed the control collars to use the beast's powerful bodies against them… it was Shadow's OWN healing factor that was responsible for fusing the slave device into his living flesh.

A flick of a switch hidden in an ornate cuff on Bernard's wrist activated the silver nitrate release mechanism. The restrained male flinched as a silver coated hypodermic needle plunged into his carotid artery, injecting a minute drop of liquefied silver directly into his blood stream. In a heartbeat, that corrosive poison was circulating throughout the Black's trapped body. Shadow screamed through his muzzle, his powerful frame arching and twisting against the restraints. When the beast's healing factor was finally able to neutralize the poison, he just lay limply on the table, eyes glazed, breath coming in rasping pants. PERFECT…the Doctor had timed the reaction, and he gave a slight nod of satisfaction. YES…that precise amount would incapacitate the creature without killing him out right if he managed to break through the collar's other control features. As a failsafe, a massive killing dose could be administered if they needed to euthanize the beast.

Duprey waited until the labored breathing evened out and those golden eyes cleared. He made very sure that Shadow was, again, aware of his surroundings. The man bent over so his mouth was inches away from one long, elegant ear. He smiled in cruel pleasure as the golden eye closest to him blinked, then rolled in anticipation of pain.

"I know that you are an…intelligent… beast. I am going to take off your restraints. If you do not follow my orders exactly, this is what will happen."

Bernard concentrated on the mature Cure materia in his wrist band. The mother orb responded, by glowing a soft green. In response to this, the twinned materia that had been calved from it came to subtle, glimmering life in Shadow's collar. A deep moan forced its way out of the long, narrow jaw that was strapped tightly shut. Inner eyelids flicked closed, dulling the gold to old bronze as a shudder ran through the beast. The Doctor stepped back and motioned for his assistant to unbuckle the heavy leather and steel restraint belts that pinned the Black to the exam table. The thick muzzle was left on. There was no reason to tempt fate by taking the risk of a potentially lethal bite.

The scientist watched as the great male slowly slid off of the table. Shadow stood still for a moment, one large, blunt fingered hand exploring the outline of the heavy metal collar that was permanently fused around his neck. As his fingers lightly touched one of the release latches, there was a bright spark and the beast yelped as electricity arced and burned. The Were sank onto his rump, folded his toes and wrapped his tail around his feet as he tried unsuccessfully to get his tongue through the leather confining his mouth. He finally gave up on licking his smarting fingers and satisfied himself with pulling them tight against his chest as he warily eyed his tormenter.

As Bernard sauntered up to the beast, the miserable look that Shadow gave him from under heavy brows drew a nasty chuckle out of the man. Sure of his control over the male, the scientist ran his hand through the thick mane and then tweaked the metal tag at the end of one sensitive ear.

"That's a good hound…. come…you can help me collar your brother."

* * *

Dr. Destinie was NOT happy that even though Dr. Duprey had his cloning tanks on line, he was having NO success getting the Were's malleable DNA stabilized enough to get a viable copy gestating. They had run into this same problem when Hojo had tried to create viable clones from the members of the Troop. She was hoping that they would have more success when they used the genetic material that one of Ice's fetuses was going to provide. Angel was aware that a living kit would be worth millions on the scientific black market…but it was worth sacrificing the profit that might be gained by that sale if they could get the little monster's stem cells to germinate in a cloning program. AND it was not as if there would be only one in the litter. The Were females had multiple teats for a reason.

Angelique smiled as she read further down the report she had received from Duprey. The Cave labs was now fully operational and genius that he was…Bernard had come up with a way to control the adult Troop Males. NOW…if they could at least get a breeding program going they would have a steady supply of younglings to sell as highly trained, specialized killers. There were several organizations trying to take Shinra down completely, that would pay huge sums to have perfectly controlled, killing machines at their beck and call.

It was not by chance that Angel had maintained contact with the Bernard Duprey. The twisted scientist had been one of Hojo's most favored students. She had met the man when they were both lowly interns working in Shinra's Bio-weapons program. Hojo had requested that they be transferred together to work under him when he started his human research. Bernard had volunteered for mako and genetic enhancement when he was assigned as the intern to assist Hojo in handling Sergeant when Muran was demoted to…specimen…status. This also made the intern the perfect choice when it came to handling the specimen known as V. The scientist had wanted every edge he could get when dealing with that one. Valentine had killed more than one of Hojo's assistants.

As a result of his enhancement, Duprey still had the looks and…appetites…of a man half his age. Angel knew that the researcher had a tenancy to use and abuse lab specimens…but as long as it did not interfere with the research being done, she had no problem with the man's sadistic activities. As a matter of fact, even though SHE herself had outgrown the sexual needs of a younger woman, the Doctor still found that the infliction of pain on a restrained, helpless being was somehow very…satisfying. Bernard would be more than willing to provide her with hours of entertainment in the form of agonizing, and bloody procedures, all performed in the name of science of course.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Griffon steadied himself on a pale shoulder, as his shaggy head dipped to whisper into his lovers' ear. Elizabeth hesitated and then nodded, arching her back so that her smooth skin brushed against his chest and her hips pushed back into his belly. A deep groan escaped the bartender as he ran his tongue over the delicate edge of her ear and then nuzzled his lips against the back of the long, slim neck.

They had been a mated pair for three years. The young woman was small, and she seemed delicate. At first, The Patriarch had hesitated to approve her addition to the Family. It had not taken long for the Old One to realize that the waif like body housed a will as strong as steel. Because Griffon had lead the splinter group operating out of Neibelhiem for years, the Family's leader had agreed to make the group there autonomous. When the bartender's pairing became official, he would hold the top spot here, with Justin the Smith as his Second.

The pair was given permission to make their bond permanent as soon as a year had passed since their first sexual partnering. In that year they had coupled as often as possible to make sure that the woman's body would be perfectly compatible with Griffon when their bond became permanent. Elizabeth had been unsure of the changes that being a part of the Family would cause in her life and had hesitated to take the final step required to cement their bond and make herself the barman's lifelong partner. The Family did not recognize divorce, and once you were accepted as a member, it was for life. There was no such thing as exile, death was the only way out. The Patriarch had learned long ago that when a member of the Family partnered with an outsider it was prudent to make the young, impulsive couple WAIT before things were finalized so that the outsider could change their mind if they wanted to.

Griffon truly loved the petite, fiery red head and had patiently waited two extra years, giving her the time she needed to come to terms with what he was. The attack and abduction of her sister had finally pushed Elizabeth into making her decision. The quiet man had held her as she sobbed, heartbroken because she had been unable to defend herself. THEN…when she swore that she would never be that weak again and had told him she was ready for their final bonding, he had made her wait and think about it for almost twenty four hours. This was important enough that he did NOT want his mate agreeing to it because of misplaced guilt.

Griffon was going to ask her one more time if this is what she truly wanted when Elizabeth took a firm grip on the headboard and pushed her firm bottom hard into his lightly furred groin. A soft, throaty moan escaped her mouth as his fully erect penis slipped between soft velvet and prodded sensitive flesh. Powerful forelegs interlinked with her slender arms, and the new Alpha of Neibelhiem closed sharp teeth over the back of his mates' neck as he eased his full length into her soft heat.

* * *

Ice had watched the breakfast drama unfold with wide, interested eyes. The female could feel the tension between the Sky Captain and her Alpha. In the Troop, Steel would not have allowed another Alpha to enter his territory without issuing a challenge. Vincent had been very clear that Cid was the leader on board this ship…his territory. Had the man issued a challenge to her Alpha last night and it had not gone well for him? Vincent seemed out of sorts also and there were glimmerings of gold in his crimson gaze.

The long, slim nose lifted and Ice casually sampled the air as Cid walked by. There were hints of pain, fear, stress, and oddly, sex, wafting through the heavier scent of the soap the man used. There was also the lingering hint of Vincent's scent and, more interesting to her, it was intertwined with the distinct spiciness of his Demon's hot musk. OH!…maybe Chaos had issued the challenge? It was not unheard of for a dominant male to mount a subordinate who got out of line. Steel had taken Titan once to prove his utter dominance over the larger male. Of course… the Alpha brother had Lahar and Shadow to back the rough, forced act, or Titan would have never stood for him. Pale blue sharpened as Ice studied the shorter blond. There were no obvious wounds but she had the intuitive feeling that the flyer had acquired a serious injury that could not be seen. It had definitely made a negative impact on the man's self confidence. If he did not recover quickly, one of his Seconds might make a bid for the leadership of his….what did he call it? Ah yes… his crew.

The cinnamon female huffed softly as she watched the stocky male's reaction to Vincent's description of a fertility test. It seemed that ALL males hated those. Some of the Captain's fire seemed to return as he stormed out of the galley. Ice's feathery brows arched up in response to some of the phrases that came flying out of the man's mouth. His use of swear words was…fascinating…If SHE had ever used language like that, Sergeant would have given her a beating.

The female removed her bowl from the table and was planning on slipping away to explore Cid's incredible flying craft when Marion casually asked Yuffie if she were on some type of birth control. The sight of Vincent's flesh hand clenching into a fist and the clawed one digging grooves into the table top (she idly wondered if ALL of Cid's tables were going end up marked like this?) stopped her, and Ice hovered in the doorway, curious in spite of herself. Yuffie's expressive ears flattened a little when she saw Vincent's reaction. The Changeling forced a smile and assured the Doc that because Godo was her father, she had been the recipient of a birth control implant at the tender young age of twelve. The woman could not control the flash of white teeth that was directed Valentine's way when he was insensitive enough to sigh in relief. To give the man credit he was quick to assure the girl that HER form was not the reason that the thought of siring offspring upset him.

Fear and true loathing made Vincent's words harsh as he explained that because of the experimentation that was done to his body he did NOT intend to sire any children. There would be a very good possibility that they would be…inhuman…and he did not want to be responsible for bringing anymore monsters into the world.

Ice froze….Vincent considered Chaos a monster and she KNEW that most humans considered her one too. ALL of Steel's kits had been born deformed and her Alpha brother had destroyed those that had survived their birth. It was his right. Long ears slowly sank and the golden female's mane sucked in tight. Valentine would consider ANY babies born of her and Chaos…. Monsters, And HE was her Alpha. With her heart breaking insider her, Ice quietly slipped out of the galley.


	27. Chapter 27

This story is rated MATURE for a reason. There are hints at male/male sex in this chapter. Nothing explicit so I did not feel the need to edit. This is a fanfiction...Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and to my original characters. Please respect this.

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 27

Holy FUCKING mother Gia! Duprey dodged as he activated Titan's collar for what seemed like the hundredth time. The huge beast crashed to the floor, writhing and twitching. The man had figured that this Troop male would be the easiest to condition. Shadow (who was crouched obediently in his assigned place, quietly watching as his brother was tortured) was infinitely more intelligent than the huge creature that lay prostrate and panting at his feet. The scientist knew from the odd…calculating…. look that occasionally passed through THAT brother's steady gold eyes, that he would always have to keep an eye on the cunning animal's activities. Titan though…he operated more on the beast level. The great male reacted more out of instinct than intelligence and Bernard had taken that into account when he designed the slave system. The simple concepts of punishment and reward… SHOULD be all he needed to bring the bruiser into line.

The doctor warily watched as the black creature again pulled himself back up to all fours. The Were just stood for a moment panting, globs of foam splattering out from between the straps of his muzzle. Titan's slightly glazed gaze shifted, alternating between his silent brother, who had made no move to help or hinder him, and the Whitecoat who brought him down every time he tried to attack. Something glimmered in those lurid yellow eyes and then the great male settled back on his rump, and folded his long toes. The black sucked in his mane, flattened his ears and gave an odd roll of his head, exposing his soft, bloodied, collar clad throat instead of trying to launch himself in another attack. FINALLY…the scientist took a deep satisfied breath and ran his hand over that heavy wedge shaped head. Titan shuddered but held his position. Taking a risk the Scientist unbuckled the heavy leather and steel muzzle and carefully slid it off of the long narrow jaw. He was very careful to avoid the sticky saliva that drooled from the creature's overheated mouth.

The black flattened his ears and rolled his head again, allowing the man to scratch at his neck where those massive jaws hinged. One yellow eyes inner eyelid flicked half closed in tentative pleasure. GOOD….Now, if the beast followed orders and completed a few simple tasks with no problems, Duprey would be sure to encourage the desired behavior by offering a reward that the great beast would truly appreciate. The man intended to be sure that Titan witnessed him… as this Troops' Alpha… fucking the blonde, then the big black would be the only Troop male that the scientist would allow to mount her also. The reward of slaking his lust in the sweet heat of a female would serve to reinforce Titan as Duprey's Second. This in turn, would guarantee that the huge black would stand with his human Alpha against his brother if ever Shadow needed to be put in his place. A few lessons along these lines and Bernard would have a deadly team of killers at his beck and call!

* * *

Whisper watched, more than a little apprehensive, as Reno took a couple of minutes to gather up a few items he felt they would need. The redhead placed a tube of lubricant and a couple of clear plastic sample cups on the dresser beside the bed. When the man slipped into the bathroom, the White succumbed to his curiosity and squeezed a little out of the container onto his fingers. The Were wasn't absolutely sure what this clear…silky feeling… gel was for…but OH…it did feel…interesting! A shiver of anticipation mixed with more than a little fear, made the fur on his body lift and then settle. Whisper had no clue as to how Reno was going to…attain…the samples they needed. Hell…the Were was nervous enough that he just knew that he was going to have problems… Changing… into his human form. The beast ALWAYS dominated in times of stress!

The White, like all of his brothers, had felt the stirring of sexual desire when he came of age. (although it was not alluring females that triggered HIS libido!) While in the labs…none had been allowed to breed except for the incident with Shadow's unfortunate mate. Whisper had not participated in that rough and bloody gang mating so, other than in the vagueness of his dreams, he had never actually experienced the act. (the PROCEDURE to procure a sperm sample…certainly didn't count!) Any attempt at self gratification in captivity had been met with broken fingers.

What Reno had done with him so far had been VERY pleasant, but the young male was not sure about taking the experience all of the way. Until he had seen what Chaos had done to Ice, Whisper had been under the impression that in most instances, the individual getting bred experienced terrible pain. (Shadow's poor love had died a broken and screaming thing, and Titan had most certainly experienced a lot of pain the time that Steel, with the help of his dominant team, had forcibly pounded his dominance into the largest brother by driving into the lower ranked, PINNED males' sensitive anal passage.) OR… as in the female Troop members case, sex was just something to be tolerated. The Alpha's grind was a fact of life that they had no choice except to lift their soft parts to him and accept. It LOOKED as if the dominant truly enjoyed the act.…but Whisper knew that HE was not the dominant here.

Reno reappeared with a couple of towels in hand. The Turk stopped and solemnly studied the expression on the Albino's long face as the male surreptitiously rubbed his broad thumb in slow circles over his slicked fingers. The beast looked up, and swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth. His thumb stopped mid-stroke as he saw his Alpha's pale eyes sensually hood themselves and become shadowed.

* * *

Reno had been formulating a plan of action as he gathered together a few items he wanted to have right on hand. The redhead did not want to be interrupted once he had started this dance. It was very important to the man that Whisper be totally enthralled with him by the day's end. The Turk was sexually attracted to a lot of people….his reputation was one that was earned. He NEVER got emotionally involved with those he bedded though. Love them and leave them, that was the prescribed Turk way.

Somehow though, this big, innocent, not quite human, young male had managed to work himself right under the Turk's notoriously thick skin. (HELL…if Reno was being honest with himself…which he wasn't…he would have acknowledged that the White had penetrated clear down through to his iron clad heart!) The man knew that sooner or later the naïve Troop male would find out exactly what being employed as a Turk entailed. The creature would then know that Reno was more a monster than Whisper could ever be.

The small part of the hardened Turk that wanted someone to love him and NEEDED a lifeline out of the sea of blood that his ruined soul was drowning in, clung to the desperate hope that the Were would become totally enraptured with him. By the time the extent of the monstrosities the man had committed in Shinra's name were revealed, MAYBE, Whisper would be able to still love the empty, bloody handed husk that Reno knew he had become.

LOVE….Reno looked at his pale sharp features in the bathroom mirror…Long slender fingers balled into fists. What the HELL was he doing? The Turk had been subconsciously trying to figure out a way to bed the white Were since that innocent, erotic kiss down in Deepground. He had come close the first morning on the ship. Ice's misadventure with the peanut butter had probably saved him a huge dressing down from Tseng. Turks were not allowed to get personal with any subject they were assigned to guard. All one had to do was look at Valentine to see where THAT could lead.

The Second had always been a total professional when it came to the responsibilities of his job. Fine, pale hands started to shake as Reno rested his weight on the sink, looking deep into the pale green eyes staring back from the mirror. They narrowed and then flashed vivid blue as his emotional turmoil triggered a mako storm. To HELL with it! He had given everything he was to being a Turk….all he received in return was his paycheck and a partner whom he loved and respected. Even this was tainted though, Reno knew that Rude would kill him if the order was ever given. It was what HE would do if the roles were reversed. Such was the reward for being a Turk.

Thin lips parted in a rather nasty smile as the man had a sudden epiphany. Dr. Beckett had unknowingly given him a godsend. Shinra labs desperately needed these samples… so… TECHNICALLY he was just doing his JOB! Tseng could find no fault with that! Reno snatched up a couple of towels and slipped back into the bedroom where Whisper was patiently sitting on the bed with his dexterous toes folded and his long tail restlessly slithering around.

The Turk had deduced that Whisper was probably very inexperienced with sex….he expected to see anticipation, even nervousness on the White male's long face when he approached the bed. What he hadn't counted on, was the look of true fear in those jewel like ruby eyes as the male watched him advance. It brought the man up short with surprise, disappointment and a little bit of anger coiling in his belly. Fear was something Reno had incorporated into sex many times…it could be a true aphrodisiac. BUT… he had no intention of going down that road with this lover. The White flinched, inner eyelids flicking in reaction as the Turk's voice was unintentionally harsh with suppressed emotion.

"YO…Whisper… are you afraid of me?"

The White gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Reno was confused and getting upset.

"Why…?"

The confusion gave way to disbelief as the young male haltingly filled the experienced man in on his rather limited knowledge of sex. Reno sank down to sit on the edge of the bed. His confusion flashed to anger as Whisper described the forced gang mating of Shadow's love and the fact that from what he had witnessed, sex seemed to be a rather painful affair for the partner on the…receiving…end.

Reno just stared at the adult Were seated next to him. ALL males had needs, this was something the redhead knew for a fact. He found it hard to believe that this healthy young male had NEVER experienced any type of sexual pleasure.

A pink tongue slipped out to wet dry lips then Reno made himself ask.

"Haven't you ever…you know…taken care of things yourself?"

At the lifting of feathery, cream brows, Reno brushed his fingers gently over the bulge in his own pants.

"YO…you know… flown solo?"

Scarlet eyes widened and Whisper jerked his hands up. That long, broad tongue licked his fingers in remembered pain even as soft lips wrinkled at the taste of the residual lubricant still there.

"NO…the white coats would break our fingers if they caught us doing that!"

The Turk shut his eyes and had to swallow three times before he trusted his mouth to not scream when he opened it.

Gentle hands caught the broad talon-ed ones and eased them down to rest in Whisper's lap. The great male froze. Strong fingers carefully opened the Were's pants and drifted down to rest lightly on soft, shell pink flesh.

"First thing Whisper, I will NOT hurt you. If you become uncomfortable with ANYTHING that I do…YO… you tell me and I WILL stop! Second,…this…" one long finger delicately stroked and pale eyes held the panic filled red.

"This… is YOURS! To do with what you want in the privacy of our room. That includes rubbing, stroking, squeezing, and I dare say in this beast form…even licking if you so desire. NOBODY here has the right to deny you the pleasure of you own body!"

That errant finger traveled down and made slow sensual circles through pale silken curls only to shift and lightly brush over the hot velveteen skin of Whisper's sack. The Were's Changed body might be that of a beast right at the moment but what he was packing between his muscled thighs was very human in shape and substance.

ALTHOUGH….red brows flared up….. What his hand was lightly stroking over, one manicured nail tracing the length of a thick vein, was quite a bit longer and thicker than that of an average man. Reno's voice thickened as a shudder passed over the White, causing the creamy mane to lift and then fall.

"You do find this… pleasant….Yo?"

That teasing hand stopped and started to withdraw, fingers lightly dancing over shell pink skin that was rapidly deepening to rose..

Whisper made a soft sound deep in his chest and the man's stormy gaze flicked up as a strong grip closed over his wrist holding his pleasure giving hand in place. The odd expression on the other male's face startled a genuine laugh out of the redhead…something he very rarely did. The fear was fading from those bloody eyes. As a matter of fact, pleasure had them half lidded. The very end of Whisper's broad tongue had slipped out from between his closed lips. It QUIVERED as Reno encircled the thick base under his palm and gave a it light squeeze. The hand slid over and tickled the sensitive spot on the inside of a velvet thigh, surprising a small chuckle out of the White. This modulated into a moan as one finger trailed down to stroke the soft spot nestled between the heavy sack and that pink sweet spot. Reno was known to be a little evil. At that soft sound he froze….

"YO….I am not hurting you am I?" The magic hand pulled back. "If ya want me to stop, just say so!"

The wide eyed look that the White threw him was almost… frantic.

* * *

Cid startled awake, the spinning wheel cracking into his shoulder as the great ship caught an errant wind and heeled hard over to port.

"YOU BITCH!"

He was having real difficulties staying awake! It took the man a moment of wrestling the wheel to bring the big girl back on course. Once he had the spirited ship again under his steady control, the blonde rolled his very stiff neck (evidently the muscle crushing grip that Chaos had used there had been a part of his nightmare experience that was very REAL) and stifled a yawn. The blonde sheepishly gave his helm a little apologetic pat for the name calling. After all, it wasn't the airships' fault that HE was having a rough time of it.

Flying the Neibelhiem mountains was tough on a good day. The fact that he was operating with no pillow time in the last thirty some odd hours AND the weather was being its usual squirrelly self as they eased over the peaks, was making this run very unpleasant. The Captain had several crew members that he trusted to pilot his ship on regular runs but none of them had the experience necessary to fly safely through the dangerous wind currents this area was known for. He was just going to have to cowboy up and tough the rest of this day out.

Cid's Cerulean gaze settled on the relaxed back of his navigator, and his expressive mouth twisted a little. Damn it….the man should have noticed the ship was wandering and alerted him to it. Hell, there was NO reason HE had to be the only person on the command deck having a bad day.

"HEY…asshole!"

The Captain grinned as that relaxed body jerked to attention with its' back ramrod straight.

"Why doncha make your fricken useless self indispensable? (yea I can use shitten big words too!) Chart us a damn course that avoids some of this fuckin turbulence! THEN…shag yer ass down to the damned galley and make me a pot of tea, preferably one with a gods be damned kick to it!"

As the man's fingers flew over his console, a bright reflective light flickered from one of the forested slopes the big ship was sailing over. Cid leaned forwards, sharp eyes trying to discern detail, but in an instant it was gone. What the hell was that? The gleam had almost looked like the flash of sunlight on a rifle scope. Cid knew this wild section of mountains was uninhabited. One broad hand ran through his hair to rub absent mindedly at the sore muscles in his abused neck. Hmph…probably was just a friggin hunter or something. Still…more ut of habit than anything…the man automatically logged the anomaly.

A whisper of movement drew Highwind's tired gaze. Ice was hesitating in the entrance to his deck, and at Cid's congenial nod, she slowly entered, her pale gaze fixated on the panoramic view that the glass and steel dome provided. The blond frowned as he took in the golden female's slouched posture and flattened ears. Hell…the pretty little thing looked down right depressed. The Were tilted her head, studying the framework that supported the glass observation dome. Then…Cid's heart leaped up in his throat and stuck there as with quick hands, feet, and a tail the female propelled herself UP…until she could settle her rump on a cross beam and lean against the thick glass to look out. All the man could see of her was the outline of her heavy mane and the thick tail that dropped to twist and curve lazily in the open air. As the female watched the forested slopes pass under them, that expressive tail slowly stopped moving and just drooped. Cid remembered that when the creature sucked her mane in, and it was most definitely tightened flat now, it meant that she was distressed.

Highwind's rough voice stopped the crew member as he headed down to obey his Captain's last order.

"Be damned sure to make that a big pot. I am sure Ice will want some too!"

Cid tried to hide the warm fuzzy feeling that rolled through him as the female moved slightly, lowering her head so that a sliver of light caught the gleam of pale silvery blue as she glanced his way out of the corner of one tilted eye. Ice's silken lips lifted a little in an almost smile. That was better….there was NO reason any one other than him on the command deck had to be having a bad day.

* * *

Rude stood outside the closed door to his room. The quiet Turk had been Reno's partner for a very long time. He was comfortable with the fact that his red headed boss was a randy thing. The man ALWAYS seemed to have a bit of tail lined up (although this was the first time that the term tail… was literal!) and it didn't really matter if it was male or female. They had been roommates almost from the beginning, so the dark man was used to seeing the different faces that Reno took into his bed. The younger man was a bit of an exhibitionist and there was little that was secret between the two partners. HELL, the big man had a standing invitation from his rather perverted partner to observe anytime he chose. AND… he had chosen to watch and even participate on more than a few occasions. There was a little bit of a voyeur in Rude. Just the act of WATCHING what his boss could do to a lover was an incredible turn on. Reno had elevated the bedroom skills that all Turks were taught into a true, rarified art form. When on assignment, if this was the type of torture he chose with a person that they had to "question," the victim almost always talked…well more like, screamed, moaned, writhed…BEGGED, you get the picture!

Still, Rude just stood at the closed door with his head cocked and the eyes behind his shades half lidded. Reno very rarely took a lover for more than one night. Rude was as close as he got to having a life partner. Attachments were dangerous in their profession, to them and to anyone they chose to get close to. Reno was the consummate professional in that his co-workers were off limits, (even with all of the innuendo and teasing the red head never followed through) and he did NOT develop emotional bonds with the subjects they were assigned to kill, or protect. (ALL you had to do was look at Valentine to see where THAT could lead!) At least, that had been the case until now.

A soft sigh escaped full lips as Rude rested his forehead against the solid door for a moment and then took a step back. He could just hear the quiet murmur of Reno's distinct voice through the heavy wood. Damn it….what was going on with the white Were was something no one could have predicted. Rude had made a study out of reading other people…this was one of the reasons he was so quiet. It was easier to get a true read on a individual if he was not contributing to the subject's behavior. He had NEVER seen Reno allow his true self out like he was doing with this male. His boss kept his vulnerable heart (or what was left of it) behind walls of steel.

Reno had been the one personally responsible for dropping the sector seven plate and, where as he made no comment of it, Rude knew the man was human. Guilt created by the thousands of deaths he had directly and indirectly caused in his career's considerable span was eating at his partner ALL of the time. The common Turk prescriptions of alcohol, adrenaline, drugs, and meaningless sex was how the redhead coped with the grievous soul wound that being a Turk created. Rude was very aware that Reno was well on his way, sliding down the tortuous slope that made many a Turk eventually willingly eat a bullet. Maybe Whisper, whose survival with all of his wonderful naïve innocence intact… PROVED… he had a tremendous strength of will, could provide the redheaded man the life line that he needed. A smile twitched the corners of Rude's sensual mouth up as he heard the redhead release a genuine soft laugh. This rare sound was followed by a light tenor chuckle that rapidly disintegrated into a low moan. This time Rude had no inclination to enter that room and watch his boss work his magic. The big man instinctively knew that what Reno was developing with Whisper had became something very special to the world weary Turk.

Rude pulled his shoulders back, turned and then slipped off down the hallway. To hell with it. If his…friend….could just this once find some healing and comfort in opening himself to care and be cared for by someone, even if that someone wasn't quite human, then who was he to stand in the way. This odd, burgeoning relationship was more than likely going to come back and bite Rude in the butt when he least expected it….but for a partner that he had grown to love and respect, this was a risk the quiet Turk was willing to take. He would deal with that bite when the time came.

* * *

I personally have always been fascinated by Rude and very few writers seem to give the character the credit he deserves. As always I appreciate the people who take the time to drop a comment and let me know what they think of my little tale. Hope to hear from more of you.


	28. Chapter 28

WARNING…this chapter contains mature content! Yaoi…male/male sex ahead, also some non-human/human sex…if this will warp your brain…DON"T read it! Intended for mature audience. ….There, you have been warned… Again I do not write gratuitous sex…there are some VERY important facts slipped into this erotic scene between Whisper and Reno. That should cover it….now on to the story! This chapter has be edited to fit within this sites Maturity ratings. The unedited version can be found at adult fan fiction in its entirety. This is a not for profit fanfiction. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to my original characters and the original parts of this story

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 28

Whisper ran his long tongue out…trying to moisten his lips. The male most definitely did NOT want Reno's hand to stop what it was doing… BUT… the Were also did not want his companion to come to any harm. The White knew instinctively that the virus that permeated his being was most dangerous while he was in his beast form. Shadow's mate had shown no sign of infection when that great brother had been secretively mating with her while in his human form. The lethal infection hadn't happened until AFTER the rest of the brothers had torn and bloodied the female while in their beast forms. If Shadow had been able to inoculate her a few more times before they had been caught, the outcome of that gruesome gang rape might have been very different. Still…Shadow would probably have euthanized his mate anyways out of pure pity. Even if the antibody levels in her blood had been high enough and the pretty little woman had managed to make the Change to a TRUE Were… her sweet natured mind had been totally shredded by the fear, pain and trauma of multiple brutal rapes. (The lab's human staff was allowed to have a go at her before the Troop males, so his brothers did NOT hold the entire blame in this. At least the Were male's had confined their unwanted attention to the passage that nature had provided for this purpose.) By mercifully killing her, Whisper's black brother had given his shattered mate the ultimate gift in that she never did lose her humanity to a Change for which she had not given her consent.

The albino's thoughts were jerked back to the present as his Alpha gently stroked what Whisper had never been allowed to touch in pleasure. The were could not stifle the resulting moan…. OH GODS….that felt exquisite!

Still, the White needed to warn the man.

"Reno…AHHH"

Pale blue eyes flashed up and the magic hand cupped and then squeezed lightly. A small, sly smile quirked the corners of the Turk's pink lips as Whispers hips lifted automatically to thrust his aroused flesh hard against that warm palm.

"Hmmmm…yes Whisper…?"

Red brows flared up as the beast groaned again and then whimpered like a child.

"Unnn…you have to stop…I can't…RRRR!"

Keeping the pressure on, Reno slid his hand inciting a deep growl that rolled out of Whisper's wide chest as his traitorous hips pulled back and then rocked forwards again, taking full advantage of the friction Reno was creating. The Albino wanted nothing more than to throw himself on his back, spread his legs, and give his Alpha FULL access to continue this exquisite torture.

"MOTHER GIA….you have to STOP! Reno….doing this is hazardous to your health!"

This last was almost screamed out as that now hot hand slipped off of Whisper's very needy… suddenly developed a mind of its own… flesh, to lightly cup and then sensually roll those other dangly bits together. OH MY GOD….Whisper was pretty sure he had just swallowed his tongue. NOPE there it was… hanging out of the side of his mouth… flapping as he panted!

Reno sat back and (Oh damn…) pulled his hand out of the White's open pants. Whisper could not contain the small disappointed whimper that oozed up and exited his throat.

The man grinned…and it was a wicked thing.

"Oh Whisper….I understand that in this form you have a very virulent… STD."

Reno turned sideways a little and was doing SOMETHING with his hands. The young male couldn't stand it. Curiosity made him lean forwards, trying to see exactly what the man was doing. He jumped back as the Turk suddenly swung around. Crimson eyes flew wide in apprehension as with a double snap the redhead finished pulling a pair of surgical gloves on with flourish, leered at the Were who was starting to scoot himself backwards on the bed and let loose with a slightly demented sounding laugh.

"HeHeHe…What do ya say…YO…I wasn't kidding about playing…. MAD doctor!"

Quick as a snake, Reno was straddling the startled Were's slim waist. The man had his lips right next to one long flexible ear as both hands slid over the broad shoulders and flattened over Whisper's pecs. Sharp teeth caught the sensitive tip and tugged a little as,

"NOW…this won't hurt ya a bit." was whispered into the captured ear.

The beasts' heart was hammering in surprise and a little fear, still this was his Alpha so the male allowed himself to be pressed down until he was on his back. ALL of his fur lifted in a wave at the…familiar….feeling of being touched by surgical gloves. It was an odd sensation of old fear mixed with intense pleasure as Reno stroked all four nipples in turn and then down the deeply arched ribcage. The man rolled his ass across the Were's straining erection and as Whisper's hips bucked at the stimulation, those quick hands slid the confining pants off, strong fingers digging into the nerves at the base of the heavy tail as he did. Whispers back arched in reflex and with a sudden tug the young male found himself sitting up, totally naked, with Reno behind him. (How DID the man DO that?) The Turk settled with the powerful Were between his knees, and he leaned Whisper back to rest against his chest.

One clever hand slid over and down Whisper's jerking stomach muscles to gently ease the Were's legs open a little more. The second hand came into sight with the open tube of lube. Reno deposited a good amount into his palm and then rubbed both hands lightly together just over the now deep rose, twitching flesh (At the sight, the young male wondered again, if it were possible for him to swallow his own tongue!) in order to heat the gel. (and the gloves) His warm breath again whispered across a twitching ear.

"Uh Hum…since ya haven't attempted this before…why don't ya let me show ya how its done. Yo… I will give you a….hand…on doing the….job, so to speak!"

The warm chuckle that followed had Whisper's snowy mane ruffing out, totally STIFF, with desire.

What followed would be s lesson forever imprinted in the young male's brain. Reno's hand wrapped around him, Long, slender fingers squeezed gently and then slowly, achingly… stroked up to twist lightly and then slide back down. The combination of silky gel plus the slick plastic gloves made the man's hand just glide over skin that was used to only being touched when it was washed. After the first sensual pump or two, slim hips started rising, pushing into that glorious friction and pressure. Every time the White's tight ass would settle back against the man's supporting body, the heavy base of his tail was nudged and rubbed by the hard bulge that was constrained between Reno's legs. An electric shock ran through Whisper each time this happened and each thrust was soon accompanied by a low moan. Whisper's head lolled back to rest on Reno's strong shoulder and crimson eyes glazed with pleasure as the inexperienced White lost himself completely in the sensations of arousal.

* * *

Reno had decided on this position because it made it possible to stroke Whisper much as he would stroke himself. The Turk knew that with the sexual tension he had created before hand and this beast form's natural libido…the Albino would reach completion very quickly. He had NOT taken into consideration the way the male's thick tail base was rubbing and nudging against his own crotch every time Whisper's rising hips pushed forwards and then pulled back! It was evidently an erogenous zone for Whisper because each bump and nudge caused that heavy tail to twist and coil. Plus, the thick, heavy flesh that Reno was working started to twitch and jerk with the rhythm that the Were unconsciously set.

GODS…the Turk knew that he really wasn't into bestiality… but something about the way those thin, silken lips lifted to expose lethal fangs in a silent snarl each time the Were beast thrust hard into his hand caused his own heart to start hammering. Reno caught his lower lip between sharp teeth as he had to work to keep his own body under control. This first time was for Whisper…he would worry about HIS pleasure later. As his partner's breath began to hitch and his rosy, heated testicles tightened Reno lightly stroked the velvet there with his free hand and then snagged a sample cup. He tightened that arm around the straining body, quickened his stroke with the other and purposefully ground his hard, confined, length against the hot ass and tail cradled against him. Whisper bucked in his arms, and those bloody eyes flew wide, BLAZED like coals, and then rolled back as the White's body, for the first time in his young life, WILLINGLY released his seed in a series of powerful surges. The mouth that had been moaning… gaped, and a deep BOOM rattled the room. For a moment Reno just watched… totally mesmerized…his mind tormenting him with the thought of having something that big and powerful on him…IN him... The man moaned softly and at the last moment jerked himself out of his fantasy to catch some of the Were's creamy sperm in his sample cup. The redhead braced himself as Whisper sagged against him, his amazing eyes closed tight.

Reno supported the limp weight of the White as the spent male sucked air in rumbling gasps. Smiling at the beast's unfeigned aura of fulfillment, the man reached over to deposit the sample cup in the bowl of ice on the nightstand and he also snagged the warm damp cloth he had put there earlier. Gentle hands started cleaning the excess…sample… off of Whisper's soft ivory fur.

The Were hummed softly, then stirred. The soft note of despair in Whisper's light voice did NOT belong there and it jerked the man's attention away from the firm belly and powerful chest he was cleaning.

"Reno….why would they hurt us rather than allow us this pleasure?"

That wedge shaped head tilted back against a pale shoulder and rolled slightly to the side so that the man could see the crimson narrow and the beast's inner eyelids flick shut, dulling the shining eyes. The redhead's heart twisted as a sparkling tear was forced out. Reno's pale hands faltered in their task as the Turk's gaze followed the drop's silent path through the soft velvet until it was lost in the mane fringe that framed Whisper's long, bewildered face.

"Why would they not teach us this simple thing? It would have made our lives a little easier to bear."

"Oh man….YO…don't…."

With a sigh, the Turk shifted until his butt was resting on his heels and his gloved hands pulled back to lay limply on his thighs.

"Whisper…the Shinra scientists did not CARE what your lives were like. The Troop was an expensive experiment and ALL the researchers were concerned with was creating the expendable weapons that the board of directors wanted. You were just company property, it didn't matter to them if there was any pleasure in your life. Not allowing the Troop males this release was just one of the ways they imprinted their complete ownership on you. It is not as visible as your property tag…but you ALL have been permanently marked just the same."

The tagged ear twitched, and one sharp talon-ed finger reached up and back to casually stroke the diamond stud in Reno's ear.

"This is not a tag….is it?"

There was no anger in the beast's words…yet… Something that the Turk just did not understand. If the roles were reversed Reno knew HE would be as mad as Hell.

"Naw…Rude and I can remove these whenever we want."

Whisper rolled his head back to solemnly study the Turk's face. The man's pale eyes closed, personal guilt preventing Reno from meeting that young, naïve gaze.

"We Turks are tagged…but…. Our marks have been sunk deep. They are placed where only…we… can feel them."

That sharp talon shifted and Reno twitched as its' cool lethal tip traced the red slashes tattooed across his cheeks. Something inside the man cracked as he felt the warm form leaning against his…. Change. The finger stroked down his jaw to lightly ghost across his lower lip. Reno's vivid eyes flashed open as he looked down into the exotic face that returned his gaze with total trust. The man could not BELIEVE he was going to do this.

"YO…. Whisper, I have a few things I need to tell you before we take this any further."

* * *

Ice sat quietly and watched in total fascination as the forested slopes and valleys passed beneath the great ship. Since the ill fated flight (for her at least) that had taken her to where she had been euthanized, she had not seen a tree or living plant. The deep green was something she had expected, but here and there, blazing gold and red pockets appeared. These jewel like colors seemed to be mostly confined to the upper peaks along the mark where the tree line gave way to rocky cliffs. The female was mesmerized by the small patches living flame. She pressed the palms of her hands against the thick glass and leaned her forehead against its chill as her pale eyes drank in the vivid colors of LIFE! There had been very little color down in the labs. Mostly sterile white, and of course more often then not, the splash of dark, bloody crimson. Even after her liberation from that horrendous place…the deep caverns under Midgar were a world of velvet night shadows and subtle shades of grey. The few times the female had ventured out into the upper ruins had offered no relief from the monotony. The devastated city had no color, and Edge was much the same. Hell…most of the time even the blue of the sly had been faded to overcast grey.

One would have thought the stunning panorama of color and life would have lifted the depressed Were's low spirits, instead… it drove home ALL of the little wonders of living that Shinra's scientists had, she was sure, maliciously denied the Troop. Ice just sat and silver, silent, tears slipped down her velveteen cheeks as the golden female absorbed as much of the beauty as she could…she knew her doomed kits would be denied this wonder.…Part of her wondered if it would not be better if her Alpha DID kill her litter as they were born, rather than have the younglings at the mercy of human scientists who seemed to have no heart. Right now, Vincent protected her and her brother. If he really felt that way about…monsters….then his protection was a tenuous thing at best.

Silvery eyes drifted to study the nearest rocky peak….and a frown pulled feathery cinnamon brows even further down. THAT was a lot closer than it had been a few moments ago. A quick slashing glance filled the Were with alarm. She had smelled that the Sky Captain was not well when she had come in, BUT…she had not realized how bad the man's physical condition was. The blonde was still standing with both hands on the spokes of the helm, but he was sagged forwards, cheek pressed against one of its' wooden spokes and DAMNED if he wasn't asleep. Even as her wide eyes watched, the wheel shifted as the wind blowing over the top of the peak raced down into the lower valley and sucked the big ship closer to the cliff, pushing her nose down. Ice didn't hesitate she spun on her butt and pushed away from the girder, her lithe body easily twisted, and her heavy tail acted as a rudder as she dropped towards the floor.

The feel of the helm starting to spin against his cheek jerked Cid awake…AGAIN. SHIT! Pain flashed across his neck and shoulders as he braced himself, then a flash of movement jerked his head around. Ice slipped off of the girder she had been resting on, a thirty foot drop between her and the very hard floor. SON of a BITCH….it was like a knife was stuck in the base of his skull. The Captain froze, caught between the need to right the ship and the overwhelming desire to stop the pregnant female's fall. Cerulean eyes widened as the female twisted, and landed feet first. She allowed her body to continue its' drop, her ankles, knees and hips flexing to absorb the shock. A wave passed over her slim form as she finished up with one hand on the floor, the shock of the landing rolled through to disperse off the end of her tail. Some of the momentum, her coiled muscles stored and then released as the Were shot forward and up, one hand catching the top rail of the banister that encircled the helm. A quick heave, then flip and her warm mass was behind him. One long fingered hand closed over the broad hand that was straining to push the spoke back down. The airship slowly righted itself, the female's strength helping the Captain straighten out the helm as the ship pulled itself out of the bucking air currents. Highwind couldn't help himself….he wasn't the calmest person under the BEST of circumstances.

"HOLY FUCKING MOTHER GIA! ARGH!"

Cid's other hand left the wheel to clutch at his chest.

"Damn…ICE are ya TRYING ta give me a flippin heart attack! What the FUCK do ya think you are doing fricken jumpin like that. GODS… that bat winged fucker from HELL, would KILL me if something happened to ya!"

Actually the man was rather glad for the warm muscled body trapping him against the wheel. If it hadn't been there, he would have slithered to the floor as his shaking legs gave out. As it was, Ice gave a soft grunt, her other arm slipping around his waist as the female momentarily held his weight, giving Cid a chance to collect himself. He could feel the slow powerful beat of the Were's heart against his back as he tried to get his own racing one to SLOW down! Mother Gia… maybe Vincent's killer coffee had been a BAD idea….his chest hurt, his stomach was twisting itself inside out, and the fire in his neck and shoulders was giving him the MOTHER of all headaches. GODS…he felt like SHIT!

The blond managed to get his legs back under him and his heartbeat back to a more normal rhythm as Ice carefully released her hold on his waist. His heart jumped again and the man sucked in a startled breath as her warm fingers pulled the back of his tee shirt down and then a broad, strong, slightly rough tongue started massaging the back of his neck in slow soothing circles. The Captain jerked upright, but the strong grip of her hand on his sore shoulder kept him locked in place.

"HOLY Fu…uung…."

Oh GODS….a shudder ran through muscles that were iron hard from pain and Chaos' previous abuse….. that felt like heaven.

* * *

Whisper settled back against Reno's shoulder, enjoying the heavy lethargy that weighted his limbs. This was evidently a by product of the pleasure that the Second had filled him with. He was listening to his Alpha, but part of his mind was analyzing EXACTLY what the man had done so that the white could try and recreate it himself later on. The were stepped hard on the guilt that stirred at the thought…Reno had said he could do THAT anytime he wanted in their room and Whisper intended to take him at his word!

Sensitive nostrils flared. The white jerked his attention back to the man behind him. The Turk's voice had dropped to almost a whisper as he spoke, and his scent took an alarming swing from aroused to….sick! Crimson eyes snapped open and Whisper tilted his head back a little so that he could see the man's face. They darkened in shock as they watched tears slip silently from behind those closed, pale eyelids. What the HELL?

The albino was aware of what a TURK was. The beginnings of the organization had been around during his stay in Shinra's labs. The low ranking male understood that Alpha's, especially ones that formed a layered team to run a large Troop, delegated responsibility amongst their top ranked males. These Seconds did most of the dirty work and were sometimes rewarded with extra privileges. Even without the rewards…they would follow their orders to the letter. To not do so invited at the least, loss of status…at worst, it brought severe punishment and a gruesome death. The entire Troop would tear the insubordinate one into bloody pieces at the top male's order.

Whisper was well aware that Reno had done some horrendous things in his life…after all… the Alpha male who ran Shinra and therefore owned this Turk…had proven that he was a vile and wicked being! The white knew that men like Reno were the weapons that their Alpha used to keep iron control. They were the fang and claw that ALLOWED Shinra to create the sadness and pain that the Troop had experienced in the labs. Such was life!

What the male did NOT understand was why carrying out his Alpha's orders was causing such damage to the high strung redhead's spirit. The soul wound that he was smelling was almost at lethal intensity! Shadow had smelled like this for WEEKS after he euthanized his mate. It wasn't the physical damage from the beating Steel had given him that almost took the Black's life, it was the damage to his heart and spirit that made that strong brother almost give up. Reno was walking that fine line even now and evidently had been doing so for a while!

Panic rolled through the white...NO…NO..NO…Whisper had waited a LIFETIME to find a mate he would be willing to fight to the death to have! (and in the Troop…that is what it would take for him to mate…a fight for Alpha status!) There had never been ANYONE that had tempted him to extend himself that way before. The young male growled softly, he had been patient long enough…this was the ONE he wanted to bond with, the ONE that he would be willing to fight for… The ONE he would be willing to DIE for! Like HELL if he was going to loose him now! Whisper flowed up from his comfortable spot. He turned just in time to see Reno's strong shoulders sag, as the man seemed to crumble under the weight of his guilt.

* * *

Ice hesitated to deal with the Captain's obvious distress, but once she was situated behind the man, the sensitive nerves situated around her mouth picked up the heat coming off of the back of his tanned neck. In her experience…heat translated directly into pain.

It wasn't her place to help. The ship's Alpha certainly must have a Second in his crew or a mate. But when he sagged back against her, the female slipped her free arm around the man's waist and felt the hammering of his heart as it shuddered through the pilot's sturdy frame. Hmph…that couldn't be good. Cid probably did not wish to broadcast his weakness by asking one of his OWN for help….Top ranked males were notorious for this. Any sign of an Alpha weakening and a Second would ALWAYS challenge for leadership.

Ice would have been alarmed if she had heard Vincent spout off the way this male did…but she was getting…used…to the interesting way Highwind had of …expressing… himself. As his heart rate started to slow, the female dipped her head (she was a little taller than him) licked over the back of his neck. It was an odd sensation as the man had little bristly hairs rather than fur. Cid jerked straight up but Ice restrained him a little with one hand as her warm tongue massaged bruised flesh and her cooling breath worked some of the heat out of it.

It did seem to help, Cid relaxed and groaned…"GODS…!" Ice's fingers moved, working at the knots in the Captain's tense shoulders and her tongue followed the heat up into the soft blond hair. She sneezed as the rough cleaning burrs on that pliant muscle rasped at his scalp and his hair tickled her nose. This was something she would do for a Troop mate and since Chaos seemed to have marked the pilot as HIS,(there WAS a subtle hint of the demons' hot spice buried under the man's interesting taste of leather, sweat, smoke and a swirl of the wild wind) well… that definitely put him in this category. She felt the Captain tense up and she stopped her first aid to peek over his shoulder. The crew member that had gone to make tea was standing in the doorway, mouth hanging wide open, tray forgotten in his hands.

* * *

Reno kept his eyes shut as he explained to his young bedmate just what a loathsome monster he truly was. The man did NOT want to see the horror and disgust that he knew would be painted across Whisper's expressive beautiful face. All he felt for himself was disgust and an emptiness where his heart should be. How could the Troop male not feel the same way? The Turk's soul (yes, he had one…it was desperately injured….curled up in a desolate void… hiding like a wild animal waiting to die) tightened into itself a little more when Whisper softly growled and cold emptiness replaced the warmth were his body had rested. Sudden sorrow crushed the man down….through his own actions he had lost everything that was important to his humanity…his heart…his soul…his honor. (Honor? Had he ever had that… he wondered?) Why not this also? After all…monsters did not deserve love.

* * *

I must take a moment to thank those readers who have left me reviews. I do appreciate hearing what people think of this tale...I hope to have more up soon.


	29. Chapter 29

WARNING….there is male/male…Yaoi…sex in this chapter. Please do not read if this will melt your mind. Again there are facts that are important to the story line intermingled with the sex.

I am sorry that this one has taken a bit long...am still having problems with my hand and arm PLUS I must admit...this was very hard to edit without loosing content. the unedited explicit version can be found on adult fan fiction. HOPEFULLY I managed to get this version tamed down enough for this site. this is a fanfiction I make no profit from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and to my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 29

At first Cid did NOT known how to react. He WAS a man after all. His body most definitely was reacting… but NOT in a way that was appropriate to the situation! (part of his mind blew trumpets of celebration. It seemed that even though his body had unwillingly enjoyed what another male had done (NOT done! DAMN IT!) to him…it still RELISHED the attention of a female….even if she DID have a tail!) Having an exotic, almost human female behind him, strong arm around his waist, lean body pressed against his back (Oh MY fucking GODS….was that four shittin nipples that he felt through the thin fabric of his shirt?) licking the back of his neck was a totally new experience. The couple of seconds that he froze in indecision made up his mind for him on how he should react. His erotic response faded as muscles that had been knotted tight, slowly unraveled in response to the hot kneading of that strong, rough appendage.

Ice worked her slow way over the heated mass of pain that was his neck at the moment. The knifing agony eased, and then faded to something that was a little more bearable. When strong, slender fingers joined in and that magic tongue worked up higher into his hair to massage his scalp, easing away the tension headache that had his head crushed in a vice…. the Sky Captain just melted. He leaned his forehead against the spokes of his helm, stretching his neck out to give her better access, shut his eyes and prayed the golden female would never stop. GODS….Ice could do that FOREVER as far as he was concerned. At least that was what he was thinking when blue eyes slitted open and caught his navigator standing in the doorway just gaping.

AH HELL….

"What….haven't ya ever gotten a Gods be damned massage? Shut yer trap…bring me my tea and get back to yer fricken post!"

The mans' teeth snapped closed. He hustled up to the helm, set his tea laden tray down and almost ran back to the navigation console all without EVER looking at his Captain. Cerulean eyes narrowed as the pilot's glare followed the man….MOTHER fricken GIA! The crewman had better KEEP his trap shut. All he needed was Vincent's dominant demon misconstruing what had been going on between Highwind and that frightening being's self proclaimed mate. OH GODS! A soft groan worked its way out of Cid's mouth. He did not need an angry, jealous Chaos…up… his… ASS!

Ice's fingers slipped off of his shoulder and the female carefully pulled the man around, concern darkening her wintry eyes when the pilot's body automatically tensed up as unwanted images flashed behind his eyes, stirred to life by his mind's unfortunate choice of words.

DAMN….Cid's open face twisted in a slight scowl as he caught a close up glimpse of the Were female. The soft fur under Ice's gem like eyes, along her straight nose and over the high cheek bones was streaked, ruffled and damp. Well FUCK…the Captain winced. Here he was feeling sick and sorry for himself, selfishly sucking up Ice's compassion when all this time… something had evidently seriously upset the quiet female.

Ice leaned forwards a little as her intelligent gaze fixated on Highwind's face. Those expressive eyes widened and turned to slate as inner eyelids flicked across them. Unease shifted through the man…was it possible that the Were had figured out what Chaos had done, (NOT done) to him? The strong hands on his shoulders gave him a little squeeze and a sympathetic shake. Then, the female turned towards the teapot. Blinking against the sudden sharp sting in his eyes, (Hey….those were NOT fricken unshed tears…HELL he was just tired!) The Captain caught her caring hands in his own work roughened ones. He gave a little tug and placed them back on the helm.

The man had to clear his throat before he could get words past the lump that had decided to squat there.

"Hey….you just keep er flying straight and true…I'll make the shitten tea!"

* * *

Reno tensed as weight caused the bed to shift. Powerful hands settled on his shoulders and the man's pale eyes flew open and widened in surprise. Whisper was kneeling between his knees, his angry face just inches from Reno's. The grip on his shoulders tightened a little and the Turk's breath caught in his throat as he remembered the incredible strength housed in this male's large frame. Silken lips drew back to expose elongated fangs.

"You…will…stop…this, Reno of the Turks!"

Each growled word was accompanied by a gentle shake.

"I hold you responsible for NONE of what you have done as a Second! Those deaths…that spilt blood… These stain the soul of your Gods be cursed Alpha. It does NOT darken yours."

Reno knew he should protest this simplistic view of life. He had CHOSEN to carry out the orders he was given (granted…sure death if he disobeyed made that choice easy)…he had CHOSEN to become a Turk. But, his words stopped, trapped in his throat as he realized it was concern mixed with fear…not anger…that was making Whisper's frantic eyes glow like hell lit rubies. Whisper pulled him closer and soft lips brushed a cheek, followed by a remarkably dry, slightly rough tongue. Reno froze as the young male gently cleaned all traces of his tears off of his face. His lids reflexively closed as warm breath tickled red eyelashes and there were more tears that leaked out as with slow gentle strokes, Whisper cleaned his eyes.

A silken cheek slid along his and soft words ghosted across an ear,

"Please Reno…I want ALL of you…bloody hands, stained soul included…ALL of you… no matter what you think you are. Please….I…NEED…you!"

This last was spoken softly…with such humility that Reno knew that the young male was giving him his heart. The man's limp gloved hands slid up the muscled rib cage and then fisted into that glorious cream mane. For a long still moment the redhead pressed his face into a powerful shoulder. Whisper hummed softly, there was a slight tug at the back of his head and red locks cascaded down as long fingers smoothed them.

"Reno….collecting a "sample" that way was fun. I would like to do it again…. sometime. Now though…." Those broad hands slid underneath the Turk's unbuttoned shirt and gently worked it off leaving creamy skin open and available to a satin tongue, a growl rumbled through the muscled frame. "NOW…. I want you to take me like Chaos took Ice!"

* * *

Turning sideways so that he could make the hot beverage AND keep an eye on the helm, the Captain got a clear view of how Ice tensed when he casually asked,

"So…what's got yer fricken tail all up in a twist?"

Cid had to swallow a chuckle when Ice's head twisted around so she could glance hastily down to check on said tail then look at him with a bewildered gaze.

He cleared his throat to hide the laugh,

"What I mean is…what's the reason for these?"

One hand lifted, tracing the damp trail alongside her nose as the other offered her a steaming cup. Cerulean eyes flew wide as that long tail swept up to pluck the cup out of his grasp, coiled around it and then brought it to the female's soft golden lips. (okay…that was just…COOL!) Her hands never left the helm and her pale gaze just studied him reproachfully over the rim of her cup. DAMN…at least SHE had remembered…he didn't speak fricken hand! Running his fingers through his hair…the damned headache was coming back…The Captain took a sip of tea and nudged her gently aside so he could resume his duties.

Cid had turned his gaze back to the sky and he did not see those elegant ears sweep up at his quietly muttered…

"What are the shitten chances that those gods be damned Shinra PRICKS took the time to teach ya yer ABC's?"

Something slapped against his back and he felt her hands moving…then…a slip from his little pad of Post-It notes appeared, stuck to the middle of the wheel. The hand writing was fluid and elegant in its simple lines.

"_Sergeant taught me to read and write…. What is a PRIK?"_

"AGH…." Cid felt his face flame. It was one thing to let his mouth run away with him….it was quite another to have to DEFINE some of the words that spilled out when it did.

"Ummm…it's spelled with a ck. Prick is another name for….a man's…ya know…a guy's…ah crap!" The Captain rocked his hips a little and one thumb pointed towards his crotch. He felt the whisper of her mane brush by his ear as pale blue eyes peered over his shoulder, then those feathery brows drew down in confusion.

"Oh GODS…you know…IT"S always looking ta screw something, ALWAYS out ta please itself… to Hell with the consequences!

Ice snorted, and her lips curved up. For a second, the sparkle of laughter replaced the shadows lurking in her eyes.

The Captain lit a smoke,

"Hey, that's better….rather see that then damned tears any day!"

Ice pulled back. Cid just steered and smoked. He had a sip of tea as he patiently waited to see what the female would do next. The pilot had played this game with Valentine many times, minus the posted notes and he had become quite good at it. Again he felt something on his back…he grinned when he realized she was using it as an impromptu board to write against. Another post -it was stuck to his helm.

"_Vincent thinks Chaos is a monster…"_

This time the females slender frame stayed back where he could not see her.

Cid snorted…

"Hell, I wouldn't worry yer pretty head bout that…Vincent fricken thinks HE is a Gods be Damned monster!"

This time the scratching sensation was short lived….he realized it was her tail that was whisking the notes up to stick on his wheel.

"_I am a monster_."

"WHAT…where did ya get that shitten idea?"

"_That is what humans call the Troop…even you said.."_

"Hold up there…"

Cid turned around to face Ice and his heart clenched when she would not look at him.

"Listen…I tend ta spout nonsense when I'm friggin surprised. That is ALL that shitten was…damned nonsense. If you and yer brother are monsters…well HELL… I'll eat my fucking ship!"

A broad hand reached out as Ice's mouth twitched. Lifting the Were's chin, Cid searched Ice's unhappy face, his blue eyes narrowed with concern.

"What's this all about sweetling…why ya so damned worried about…WHO is a shitten monster…all of a sudden?"

Ice slapped the post-its against his chest this time.

"_Vincent does not WANT kitlings….he said he would not be responsible for bringing any more monsters into this world."_

Ahhh…Cid GOT it! The pregnant female was worried that Vincent would not LIKE her babies. He could see why she was concerned, the demon ridden gunman could be incredibly biased sometimes when it came to things like…monsters…demons…guilt…PENANCE. Hmph…he would put this straight right quick.

"Ice…as long as CHAOS is happy with your kits…who cares WHAT Valentine shitten thinks!"

Cid wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting but silvery tears rising then slipping over her cinnamon lashes certainly wasn't it!

"_Sky Captain…If Vincent does not WANT my kits, he will euthanize them. Alphas KILL kitlings that they don't want."_

* * *

Reno pulled with his mane filled hands ever so slightly and Whisper's head willingly arched back, tilting to the side to expose the column of his throat. Rising on his knees, the man softly nuzzled the tender spot right under one elegant ear. The flexible thing twitched as warm breath heralded the arrival of sharp teeth that nipped and nibbled along the very sensitive edge all the way up to the tip. The Turk's dexterous tongue swirled around and then drew the tip in between soft lips were he rolled and sucked on it for a moment. Whisper's hands slid off of his shoulders, flattened across his chest and rested there twitching as Reno tilted his head and worked the other ear over the same way.

The man pulled back and his hands slid to cup the strong jaw line, steadying the young male while pale eyes solemnly searched the innocent face. What he saw there had a rare gentle smile curving Reno's lips as his head dipped to capture the White's mouth. Soft lips became demanding and Whisper's willing mouth opened instantly to allow the dominant to take and taste what he wanted. Reno's tongue dipped in, slid along the White's very sensitive one, paused for a second to experiment with the rough texture there and then stroked up to glide across the high arched palate.

A soft whimper vibrated into the redhead's mouth as Reno's hands shifted down to scratch lightly right above the base of the male's heavy tail. The strong back arched and Reno cupped firm buttocks to pull that warm body tight against him. A shift sideways and he straddled one soft skinned leg. The Turk lifted up to his knees bringing the Were up with him and his strong thigh pressed lightly, gently rubbing and nudging against Whisper's shimmering pink sex. The Were's youth was apparent as the color quickly deepened to rose and it stirred back to life. A deep moan rumbled up and the man shifted his lips allowing the quiet sound to escape.

Whisper pulled back a little.

"Reno….you don't need these while I am like this."

A sharp talon carefully traced down and hooked into a surgical glove. At the redheads' questioning look the white sliced through the thin rubber.

"The beast part of me is dangerous to your body right now….but the more I "share" with you in THIS form the less dangerous the beast becomes. It is GOOD to…how did Dr. Marion put it…ah yes…to exchange body fluids while I am Changed…it protects you."

Those soft lips were just inches from Reno's mouth and as the were spoke he dropped his head and his rough tongue slid seductively over the man's sculpted collarbone.

"And…. I SO want to "share" with you!"

Whisper slid his body up, trapping that exquisitely sensitive piece of HIM against a satiny…hard belly. The male rocked himself against Reno's thigh lightly, rolling their bellies together, stimulating himself as he pleasured the body under his. The Turk didn't hesitate…he twisted, flipping the other male onto his back, It was HIGH time he took the dominant position

* * *

The minute his back hit the sheets Whisper relaxed, arching his neck a little, exposing his throat. The young male knew that he had taken some liberties by assuming a dominate position over his mate and although Reno had seemed to enjoy it….the white wasn't sure what his Alpha's reaction would be. Whisper watched as the man over him turned, and shifted to the side in order to reach the lube and scoot a sample cup a little closer. Feathery brows dropped as the white pictured in his head Steel's taking of Titan. He knew where Reno's beautiful erection was going to end up and the were realized that with his tail…this position wasn't going to work. The heavy base automatically compressed everything closed because of his weight resting on it. SO…while Reno was occupied.. .The albino flipped over, pushed his rear into the air and dropped his front to rest his weight on his elbows and forearms.

"Son of a BITCH!"

Reno had turned back around and he froze as he was confronted by the sight of Whisper's firm ass up in the air, swaying slightly from side to side. The white grinned to himself as he saw the man's dusky, hard member twitch out of the corner of his eyes and he coyly twisted his tail up and seductively to the side, effectively getting the appendage out of the way. Ears flattened slightly as he felt the Turk's heat move behind him and an apprehensive shiver traveled over his skin causing velveteen fur to rise and fall in a wave as hot fingers stroked the soft underside of his tail and then lightly swirled around the rim of his tightly closed virginity. Whisper's mind might have been fearful, but his body automatically pushed back a little and his own erection throbbed in response.

Reno's heat settle over his back and the man whispered in his ear as that finger continued pressed and release against him in a gentle rhythm.

The man's voice was rough and thick with controlled passion.

"Whisper… I need you to try and relax, yo? This might be a little uncomfortable at first, ya need ta give it a chance. …Remember, if you need me to stop, just tell me…I WILL not hurt you.."

Whisper nodded and concentrated on relaxing as Reno eased the slick digit in. White lips pulled back and the male just barely managed to restrain himself until he felt the man's knuckle bump him. Then he could not help it…a soft growl slipped out. It wasn't terribly painful, but it wasn't pleasant eith…ahhhh. The growl changed to a startled almost squeak as Reno twisted his hand a little, the end of the slightly crooked finger lightly prodding. The young male couldn't have stopped himself if he wanted to. His rump pushed back hard into that intruding hand…hoping it would do that again.

"YO….you okay there….?"

There was a evil edge to the words and the Alpha pulled that finger almost out. Whisper was having none of that! His tail whipped over, wrapped around the slender but strong wrist and pushed the digit right back in…where it belonged. The young male moaned and his hips rocked as Reno…with a wicked grin stroked that little bundle of nerves deep inside…again and again. As the man eased his long finger around, filling and stretching, then added a second…the young Were had an epiphany. The whitecoats had NOT let them do this because… HELL it was ALL they would ever have wanted to do in their pleasure starved, pain filled world!

There was a small amount of discomfort as a third finger was added…but as Reno slowly eased it in, his other hand slid between silken white thighs, stroked along flesh that was so hard that the touch almost hurt and then tickled across the base of his tail. Whispers back arched and he whimpered with need as his partner carefully opened him up and loosened his tight muscles. The male could not stop the almost childish whine that escaped as that pleasure/pain stopped and a suddenly very NEEDY part of him was left achingly empty.

Wet fingers traveled again along soft skin, gently stroking, coating him heavily with lube and Reno's soft groan had crimson eyes peeking over his shoulder only to freeze and lick dry lips at the sight of one long, pale hand gliding over that dusky length as The Turk slicked himself up. Oh Gods… oh Gods…..Whisper buried his face in the pillows….a presence behind him again and a blunt pressure, then he was slowly being filled by heat and satin covered steel. A soft whine started deep in his throat as a strong arm slipped around his hips holding him relatively still as a torturing hand slowly stroked at the same time Reno's length was carefully rocked into him. The white could hear the breath hiss between his Alpha's clenched teeth as the man brought his tremendous strength of will into play each time he shifted back and then forwards as he eased himself deeper.

Whisper was young in were terms and had not had the opportunity to learn control….the exquisite feeling of being split and filled, the sensation of the man's engorged head prodding and squeezing past his already sensitized prostate, combined with the hand that he was automatically pushing into triggered his climax almost instantly. Shuddering with the aftermath…the white was…disappointed….that it had happened so fast. Then he felt Reno shift over his back and a sample cup was set where it couldn't get spilled. The Were moaned softly as the man's still hard length pushed a little farther into him as Reno pressed against his back to nibble on a shoulder.

"Yo….hmmmm…"

The man lifted….. rocked his narrow hips against the satiny rump… and Whisper pushed back hard as his vision sheeted to white when the Turk's flat belly compressed the base of his sensitive tail. Sharp teeth nipped the tip of an ear as the young were bucked under the dominant male…

"That was ta get the sample…This….Ahhhh"

Whisper almost screamed as Reno rolled himself inside stretching those now relaxed walls a little more. "THIS…is for the sheer fun of it!"

* * *

"Uhn…Uhn…Uhn…"

Reno listened with pleasure to Whispers unrestrained, innocent moans as he set a slow, powerful thrusting rhythm. He had been at the very edge of his control before…not wanting to tear the thin tissue he was sheathed inside as he brought the young male to a climax. He needed to not immerse himself in what he was doing so that he could collect that last sample. The experienced man had known that Whisper would probably have a hair trigger even after his first initial release…after all his body had a hell of a lot of catching up to do in the pleasure department. The Turk could continue this for a remarkably long time. He had used his body as a weapon to extract information for years and had trained himself to last as long as was needed. He had held off his release, (not an easy feat considering the strength in the muscles that had clamped and rippled around him when Whisper climaxed) not wanting this first lovemaking session to be only about collecting a sample. When the muscled body under him had finally stopped shuddering, the Turk had held very still for a moment to collect himself and then eased himself forwards, sheathing himself all of the way in. Whisper's inner muscles had relaxed after the sudden exertion of ejaculation and the tight space he moved in now gave freely, opening to him with ease.

Reno pushed his face into that wonderful smelling creamy mane and smothered his groan against the twitching muscles of Whisper's wide back. Pale, languid eyes took in the way those powerful fingers clenched and released into the sheets. A questing, knowing hand slipped around and gave a couple of long strokes to flesh that had never really softened and the young male's soft moans shifted to a deep hum.

OH…that was NICE…the vibrations traveled from the deep chest and penetrated to HIS very core. Reno studied the writhing back under him, admiring the way Whisper's creamy maned head arched back as he changed his angle driving against that little bundle of nerves. The hum changed to a keen . And the fire building in Reno became blinding, as his sweet lover chanted his name each time he drove his hips forwards. The sleek behind pushed hard into him and his pelvis ground against the heavy base of that wonderful tail.

Whisper screamed "Reno…", and his body actually pulled the man in a little deeper as he arched reflexively.

It shattered the Turk's control. Strong hands pinned bucking hips as Reno drove himself deep, pounding against that sensitive tail area as he did so. Whisper sobbed as he was pushed over the edge a third time. His heavy tail coiled around a pale straining thigh, slithered between the cheeks of Reno's quivering ass and the prehensile tip seemed to be trying to push the Turk further in as it pressed up hard. The man's soft voice joined the were's sobs.

"Gods… Whisper.." was breathed over and over again as the Turk allowed himself sweet release.

* * *

Reno felt the powerful body under him go limp and he managed to shift to the side as Whisper collapsed onto his belly. The man froze with concern, then grinned as the white mumbled something unintelligible, turned his head so that the Turk got a glimpse of glazed…lidded… SATED… crimson, then the pale outer lids closed and the young male was sound asleep. Easing his softened member out of his lover, Reno did a careful check…making sure he had caused no serious damage. Then he quietly reached up and snagged the second soft cloth he had prepared. He had just finished cleaning under the heavy tail and between snowy thighs when the door quietly opened to let Rude into the room. The big man studied the rather attractive scene…The combination of snowy fur…pale skin and flame colored hair was quite a picture. Then he flowed over to the bed with the muttered comment…

"Man if ya don't turn him over, he is going to stick to the sheets!"

Reno was thankful for his partner's strength as they rolled the heavy form…but his long fingered hand closed around the dark wrist when the man reached for a cloth.

"YO….I'll do it!"

Pale eyes sheepishly asked forgiveness, and Rude just smiled…as he watched experienced…gentle… hands clean the excess "sample" off. There was no jealousy present as the man watched those talented fingers pay special attention to softly wiping shimmering shell pink softness. Then… Rude snagged the little bowl of ice with the sample cups off of the night stand and strolled back the way he had come.

"You have a couple of hours before we get to Neibelhiem,"

was the last thing Reno heard as his friend quietly shut the door.

Cid's mind stuttered to a grinding halt.

"WHAT….the fuck…"

This started out a shout and faded to a whisper as Ice hugged herself, long fingers unconsciously stroking across her flat belly. Cid's warm hand dropped to cover hers and the other pulled her against him. Such was the Were's distress that she allowed this, only ducking her head to press against his broad chest.

"Ya listen to the Captain…" The words were rough with suppressed emotion whispered directly into one twitching, delicate ear, "Ain't fucking NOBODY going to kill yer kits. Jest git that Gods be damned thought right outta yer pretty head!"

Cid wasn't sure WHAT Vincent had said to cause this… but he was going to KICK the man's stupid, shitten ASS the next time he saw him…and that bat winged bastards butt that resided in him too! Chaos should have corrected this as soon as it happened! Ice's shoulders hitched against him as the female hiccupped.

"Now…I know Vincent better than he knows himself. I am Gods be damned PROMISING ya that HE would NOT hurt your babies….ever….even if they are born yellow eyed, bat winged, and pointy tailed with little pink monkey butts!"

Ice's head snapped up as she pinned him with an outraged glare….then her face softened and she snorted. Cid leaned back, steering the helm with his elbows as he watched her fight a loosing battle against a smile. Hands slapped the pad against his chest…. hard.

"OUCH!"

"_You are certain of this…?"_

The Captain stubbed his cig out on the heel of his boot .

"I am FUCKING positive."

Cid felt the wheel shift against his back and he turned, one strong hand flashing out and preventing any high jinks the airship was thinking about starting.

He felt Ice's long arms reach around to hug him as she nuzzled into the back of his neck for a moment and then rested her chin on his shoulder. The Were's warm breath tickled across his ear and the man winced at the ruin her brother had made of that soft voice.

"_Thank you ….Captain Cid."_

The man stretched…he still felt like shit but at least NOW he was the only one on the command deck who did.

"Why doncha pour us a little more of that damned good tea…then ya can sit yer monkey butt down here and keep me awake. Ya must have other shitten things that you are dying ta ask."

Ice topped their tea off and plopped her butt down right at his feet. The Captain watched bemused as the golden female folded her toes over each other and he had to suppress a start when that long tail coiled up and around his leg. For a moment she just sat, cinnamon maned head bent, writing at a furious pace. Then one hand shot up… a post it stuck on the end of a slender finger.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"_Why are some of the trees green and some are yellow….why do you breath smoke…can you create fire like the Galian does? What is chocolate…what is a moose…and why would you want to cover one with the other and then eat it? What keeps the airship in the air? How come …."_


	30. Chapter 30

this is a not for profit fan fiction...Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters...I am just playing with them for a while. I own the rights to the original parts of the story line and to my Original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 30

Marion stared, totally fascinated by the sample in her micron-scope. The first sample she had looked at had been packed full of the unique virus that the Were's carried. Having intercourse with a male in beast form would be a literal death sentence if there were ANY type of tearing involved. The second sample though, it was very interesting to say the least. There was still virus present but at a much lesser density. Also…it had been altered by Whisper's Change. This elegant form was bonded to the outside surface of the highly active sperm. It looked like nothing more than a killed or inactive virus one would find in a vaccine. Something even more interesting was the amount of antibodies packed into the pre-seminal fluid that was included in the sample. Rather than killing the mutated virus…the antibodies attached themselves and became dormant.

Just for curiosities sake…the Vet added a drop of her blood to the mix. She was disappointed when the virus mutated back to its highly virulent form the instant that it came into contact with her red cells. A part of her had hoped that a vaccine could be made for Yuffie using the Changed virus but evidently such wasn't the case. Marion sat back with a sigh and a rueful smile. Of course it wouldn't be THAT simple…surely the Shinra labs had access to a Changed sperm sample before. They had held the males of the Troop for YEARS.

"So…is Reno's health being compromised by Whisper?"

The quiet male voice had the scientist practically jumping out of her chair…she did manage to choke the scream that tried to escape, off into a startled squeak.

"Mother Gia…Rude !"

HOW the big man could move so quietly boggled the woman's mind. There was no telling how long the Turk had been standing behind…watching her before he revealed his presence. Marion turned in her chair and gave the man the best dirty look she could muster.

"Do you HAVE to sneak up on people like that?"

Rude's shades gleamed back at her…and he gave a slight shrug as if to say…Well it is in the JOB description. Then the man settled back into his usual, uncannily still pose, and waited for her response. The Doctor rubbed slightly strained eyes…carefully formulating her answer.

"Tell Reno to be VERY sure there is no body fluid exchange when he is dealing with Whisper's beast form. If that happens, well lets just say your partner will be screwed without the benefit! Even if they listen to what I said about um…positions…and follow basic safe sex precautions, there is still SOME risk to Reno with Whisper in his Changed form. They need to be extra vigilante against sperm to blood contact."

The big man gave a slight nod…then tilted his head as the intercom crackled to life letting the crew know they would be docking in twenty minutes. Marion stood up and stretched, her stiff back cracking and popping in protest. She brushed by the Turk, and was happy that her skin had stopped crawling every time she got near one of the Shinra assassins.

"If you will excuse me….I have to make sure my equipment is packed properly for transport."

Rude watched the little Vet leave with hidden eyes and then silently departed to make sure his partner was up and ready for duty. The big man would not admit it…but he was worried. Reno was not KNOWN for his common sense when it came to sex and his partner's sharp eyes had seen no sign earlier of the condom that the redhead SHOULD have been using with Whisper!

Left alone on the table…no one was there to see one of the dormant antibodies surge to life on the slide as a white cell of Marion's touched it. The antibody penetrated down to the hunter/killer's nucleus. For a moment nothing happened, then the white cell's DNA heliotrope untwisted and reassembled itself as the hunter cell… Changed. A moment later the altered cell split, creating an exact replica of its new form.

* * *

Valentine was making his way towards the command center when the ship wide intercom crackled to life.

"We'll be docking in twenty minutes people….get yer asses in gear!" Before the device clicked off he also heard…. "Just a shitten minute…Ice. DAMN…Where in the HELL are ya fricken coming up with these?"

The gunslinger stepped through the heavy door and ground to a halt…crimson eyes widening. Cid was at his usual post, hands on the helm, legs braced as he automatically made adjustments to their course. Every spare surface of the big ship's wooden wheel was festooned with yellow post-it notes. Ice was sitting at the pilot's feet, slightly turned towards him, as she watched Cid's tired face with avid interest. Her long tail was coiled up one of the man's legs. Gold glimmered in red as the demon ridden man noticed one of the Captain's broad hands drop down to absently adjust the flicking tip away from his ass. Evidently Yuffie had NOT been exaggerating when she complained about the dexterous appendages having a mind of their own!

Vincent started walking only to trip over nothing as Highwind's soft, rough voice reached him.

"….and that's why women only have two fricken boobs."

Two pairs of blue eyes turned towards him as he recovered. The arctic blue ones widened a little in apprehension. The one's that matched the sky narrowed and sparked. Highwind seemed even more ill than he had been that morning. His face was very drawn and pale, and the shadows under his eyes were darker. There was a major difference though. When he had seen the Captain in the galley, the man would NOT look him in the eye …NOW…Cid was positively glaring at him! Vincent cringed a little on the inside. Everybody seemed to be upset with him this day. The Turks were avoiding him like the plague, Cloud had made himself practically invisible and Yuffie had not said one word to him since breakfast. That in itself had to be a record of some kind! Still….Valentine steeled himself….ANYTHING was better than the apathy that he had witnessed from Cid in the galley. This man most certainly had the right to be pissed at him after last night's experience with Chaos! Vincent had no problem taking whatever his friend decided to dish out.…he deserved it.

The gunman watched as Highwind carefully disengaged that long tail from around his leg.

"Hey…why doncha go and make sure the damned brat doesn't need some help packing?"

The prehensile tip coiled lightly around Cid's wrist as Ice slowly stood up, glanced at Vincent and then peered closely at the Captain's wane face. The hand strayed out and ruffled Ice's cinnamon mane.

"Ah hell…I'm fine…Vince can keep me awake till we dock. You go on ahead and git yer pretty self ready ta leave."

Again Valentine found himself the object of a wintry glance and then the Were was standing by him, one hand on the rail.

Cid's voice cracked out.

"HEY…. don't need a flippin heart attack…use the fricken STAIRS…!"

Ice stifled a smile and trotted lightly down the steps.

The ex-Turk watched her for a moment, then turned back to his friend, one elegant brow lifting as he saw the man pluck the little notes off of his helm. Cid had a bemused smile on his face as he carefully stacked the pieces of paper, and then slipped them into his breast pocket to rest next to his pack of smokes. The smile disappeared the minute that Ice was off of the deck. Cid did not look his way…the pilot ran his blunt fingers through his hair and Vincent did not miss the slight grimace as that hand ended up rubbing the back of his neck.

Vincent closed his eyes….GODS he wished he could just crawl back into his coffin…

"Cid…I know what happened last night was my fault…it was monstrous…and…"

The same hand shook slightly as it removed the smoke from between tight lips as the pilot sighed.

"Valentine…I fricken realize that your life has been one gods be damned, long, cluster fuck…ya got the right to be angry at the fricken Gods, Shinra, Chaos, Hojo…CRAP, the whole shitten universe. I don't blame ya fer trying ta bury yourself last night. SHIT…ya have the right ta hate what was done to ya, even to hate what ya are!"

Both of Cid's hands were back on the helm but this did not stop him from looking at the ex-Turk out of slightly haunted blue eyes.

"No matter what ya shitten think, I DON'T see a fricken monster when I look at ya and I didn't see any monsters last night. HELL…that bat winged bastard was just doing what he fricken thought had to be done! If Chaos WAS the total monster you think he is….He would not have settled for playing with my damned mind…he'd of shitten raped me an left my bleeding, DYING body ta fricken greet ya when ya came outta hiding!"

The blonde head dipped down, the blue releasing the crimson as the pilot tiredly rubbed his cheek against a tense shoulder. Strong hands gripped the helm hard enough that the wood gave a complaining creak. Vincent watched, frozen in total fascination as the tight muscles in the Captain's broad back rolled under his thin shirt.

"Still…I'm not here ta try and convince ya of that. No…If ya want ta believe yer a fucking monster…well that's yer right too! BUT….!"

One hand snapped down on the controls that set the aircraft to hover and Valentine suddenly found his personal space being violated by a totally pissed off blonde.

"If I EVER see Ice that flippin upset again by something YOU let outta your Gods be DAMNED unthinking mouth…!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO….HOST?"

The demon's anger rumbling to life in his head did NOTHING for the gunman's mental balance as he tried to figure out just exactly what he had done. The fact that the words were underscored by the Galian's deep growl did not bode well.

The Captain's flushed face was inches from Vincent's. A work hardened finger stabbed the gunman in the chest as the man totally disregarded the gold that had flared to life in the demon ridden man's red eyes as he continued without taking a breath.

"…I promise I will shove my foot so far up yer ASS that CHAOS will be tasting fucking boot leather for a shitten week!"

Totally clueless as to how he had upset Ice, Vincent stepped back trying to put some distance between himself and the angry man.

Highwind's hand fisted into his shirt and yanked him closer.

"Oh no you don't… ain't fucking going NOWHERE until I'm fricken finished with ya!"

The pilot froze but did NOT let go when it was Chaos' rough voice that pushed out of Vincent's mouth.

"TASTE BOOT LEATHER?…REALLY HIGHWIND…. WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS DID THE HOST DO?"

Cid gave the ex-Turk's stiff body a little shake…then released his hold to run a hand over his tired face.

"You ain't no fucking better than he is… ya prick. I expect this kinda shit from Vamp here. But YOU….What with ALL of yer shitten power ya couldn't stop dumb fuck here from making an ass outta the both of you!"

Vincent silently cheered at the flyer's returned spunk when the man did not back down from hotly glowing gold eyes and a snarl that exposed elongated canines. He did put the brakes on one very outraged demon as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers and took a page out of the Captain's book.

"Damn it Chief!…It would fucking help if we knew just what the HELL we did!"

Cid drew himself up to his full height (which still put his eyes considerably lower than Vincent's) as two fingers dipped into his pocket to pull out three post-it notes.

"Mother fucking Gia…Vincent ya gotta be more shittin careful what ya say around Ice. The sweetling doesn't flippin THINK the same way we do AND she is fucking hormonal to boot!"

Vincent just frowned as he studied the little notes about monsters. He did not understand why this would upset the pregnant female to the point of setting the Captain off. A soft sigh drew his attention back to Cid who lit a cigarette and handed him one last little note. The gunner hissed softly as what Highwind was trying to get across sank in.

"Vince…the poor little thing came in here totally convinced you were gonna kill her fricken babes before they even drew their first breath!"

"What….?" The ex-Turk felt like he had been kicked in the guts.

"OH MOTHER GIA…HOST… YOU DO HAVE A KNACK FOR MAKING MATTERS WORSE!"

"Hell Cid…I was worried about not hurting Yuffie's feelings…I didn't even think…"

"Yeah…that's just it… ya didn't fucking th…" The Captain stopped mid sentence and an odd expression crossed his mobile face.

"AH NO…. Vince…don't shitten tell me that ya made that flippin crack about monsters in front of the damned brat? Ya poor dumb bastard!"

"YEP…I MUST POINT THIS OUT. YOU HAVE AN INCREDABLE TALENT FOR FINDING EVERY LITTLE PILE OF SHIT AND STEPPING IN IT!"

Vincent sagged…

"Oh gods…Chaos… we are so screwed."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN…WE…BAT BOY. I WILL BE THE HERO WITH MY MATE…PROTECTING HER AND HER KITS FROM THE BIG BAD ALPHA…NAMELY YOU! YOU…ON THE OTHER HAND HAVE MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT I AM NOT TO GET ANYWHERE NEAR THE WARRIOR CHILD. YOU…. SIR…ARE ON YOUR OWN!"

* * *

Duprey aimed the rifle at the shrieking, snapping, foaming at the mouth… THING ….that had been the buxom blond. A stroke of the trigger embedded a dart loaded with silver nitrate into its' neck. It screamed…reared up onto its crooked hind legs and was dead before its shuddering body hit the floor. As the scientist watched the monster twitch its last, he breathed a silent thanks that he had NOT given into the desire to strap Shadow's beast form down to an exam table for the purpose of rape. Evidently the virus COULD transmit through mucus membranes when the were-beasts engaged in sex.

Titan had followed his orders to the letter as the scientist led a quick raid on an isolated farm. The great black beast had earned the reward of an obedient Second. Bernard had slathered the lube on thick and been damn sure that Titan had not torn the screaming bitch (oh yes…the blonde had still been able to scream quite nicely when she had felt the huge black settle over her back!)when he mounted, then thrust himself inside her immobilized body. Duprey had found himself with an almost painful erection as he watched and imagined himself abusing Titan's smaller black brother in much the same way. Being ever cautious, the man had made himself wait. Much to his disappointment, the specimen had gone through a second generation Change just hours after the beast finished with her. He would not have the pleasure of breaking Shadow in this way.

None of the men that they had snatched in last night's farm raid had the strength of will that made breaking a male so exquisite…he would just have to pick another cunt out of the group for his nightly entertainment. The scientist was NOT interested in men unless it was brutal rape that was involved. He had not realized how incredible the taking of a strong, helpless man was until he had first …experimented ( a dry chuckle here at the use of that word!) on some of Hojo's "specimens." Bernard had discovered that unwilling males responded with GREAT vigor to the humiliation and pain of an unwanted penetration. Something about hearing a strong man scream and beg while he drove himself into their tight passage was even more satisfying then when he abused a female. Plus…. there was the added bonus that if he wanted to…he could make the unwilling male's body enjoy the painful intrusion whether it wanted to or not!

This was a vice that he lovingly accredited to Hojo. He would never have known the joy of slamming into a writhing, screaming, bleeding male piece of meat if the head of research had not actively encouraged it with Sergeant and ultimately, Project V. Hojo had perfected his ability to torture and rape at the same time, to an art form with the doomed Turk. When the scientist had tired during those protracted sessions he would allow the mako enhanced Bernard to step in so that the strapped down, shuddering specimen had no reprieve. The twisted Doctor had taught his willing apprentice every trick in the book required to wrest screams from an unwilling throat.

Just for a moment the man indulged himself while he replayed his greatest conquest over in his mind. Granted…the winged one had never screamed or begged… it had snarled and cursed in a language that had been dead for millennium…the rapist had not needed a translator to figure out that he was just so much bleeding meat if the creature EVER got out of its chains.! Still…. Fear and the ego rush of mounting such a being had made it the ride of his life!….Duprey idly wondered if Angelique knew the formula of the mix that Hojo had used to immobilize Vincent's powerful Chaos form.

DAMN…these thoughts were not helping the situation in his pants any at all! The scientist directed Shadow to bag the monster's body and take it to the freezers. He knew he had better go pick a woman from the new specimens when he found himself watching that powerful, tailed ass, and wondering how many condoms it would take to keep his humanity (such as it was) safe.

* * *

It was a stunned and quiet group that stood in front of the old Shinra mansion bathed in the late afternoon sun. Reno grinned with anticipation as he nudged his silent partner in the ribs. The Turks were not surprised…they knew what Rufus Shinra could accomplish when he threw his diminished but still considerable influence, power, and MONEY into a Project that he wanted done! The two Were's were silent mainly from apprehension. Ice in particular was having a hard time trusting that there weren't steel and leather restraints, pain, and inescapable cells in that huge building. The rest were just amazed at the dilapidated building's sudden transformation. The usually undemonstrative Cloud whistled softly, running his hand through his spikes as he tilted his head up to take in the fresh paint, new windows, rebuilt walls and roof all decorated by elegant cornices and trim. The grounds had been cleaned up, and manicured to the point that they looked like a luxury park clear back into the forest. Even the high wrought iron security fence that covered the acres of the estate had been stripped of rust and freshly painted. A large field to the back of the house had been converted into landing pad that could accommodate helicopters and with some careful maneuvering and cursing from her Captain…one large airship. Shinra's remaining work crew was scuttling back and forth, unloading equipment and supplies before they took their final leave.

"Holy shit!"

Cid had left his crew to finish supervising the unload and joined the little group as they gathered on the marble steps in front of the huge, ornately carved wooden front doors. Vincent frowned a little at the pilot's exhausted appearance.

"Highwind…don't you think you should be in bed?"

Cid switched his smoke from one side of his mouth to the other and leaned Venus Gospel casually against his shoulder.

"Don't get yer damned tail in a twist."

Vincent had to stifle a smile as Whisper's head jerked around looking for said tail. Ice just looked smug.

"I'll hit the flippin sack as soon as I'm damned sure there's no fricken Shinra lab bullshit goin on with you and the kids!"

The gunman nodded slightly then reached to open the door…only to step back with his hand on Cerberus as the thick oak swung silently open seemingly on its' own! The svelte older man on the inside of the entryway, glanced down at the impressive gun on his guest's hip then up at the intimidating form of the ex-Turk with an impassive face. He gave a graceful half bow and one slender hand swept around inviting the group in.

"Welcome to Shinra estates Master Valentine….I am Abraham…your Premier Valet."

The quiet man stepped back allowing the group entry. A petite redheaded woman came forward and gave a little nod as she was introduced as Elizabeth, the estate's housekeeper and cook. It seemed that Rufus was sparing NO expense when it came to making sure everyone was kept comfortable. Vincent said nothing as he made a note to himself to personally check the backgrounds on the two. He knew that Tseng would have already done this but the head of the Turks ALWAYS had an agenda! Then his crimson eyes flew wide as he took in his surroundings. From its' gleaming hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers, sweeping banisters and high crown moldings to the softly glowing wood paneling and rich curtains, the interior of the old mansion had been returned to its original glory. There was a soft chuckle deep in his mind.

"I TOLD YOU THAT THE OLD PLACE HAD A CERTAIN…CHARM…BURIED UNDERNEATH ALL OF THE DUST AND DECAY!"

His head snapped around as Yuffie growled…

"Hey hands off old man….nobody touches my stuff but ME!"

The girl ignored the startled look on the man servant's face as she snatched her bag and ran up the wide stairs.

"WOW…I'm gonna pick us the BEST room…."

The group could hear the girl's squeals of delight along with a lot of door slamming and banging. The ex-Turk had to admit that Rufus had picked one of the best when Abraham…his quiet face already schooled back into a serene expression, cleared his throat and insisted that the rest of the group go up and pick their rooms. He would bring their bags up later.

* * *

Cid followed Ice up the stairs…not because he needed to find a room (he would sleep on the ship) but because the silent female had wrapped her tail around his wrist in insecurity and the Captain had no problem giving her some moral support. They checked out a couple of very nicely furnished rooms but the pilot kept her looking until they found a small room very high up towards the attics. It was simply furnished, the man could see that it had a private bath, but what made Ice's tail release him, was a tall window nook that opened out to a balcony. The view from here took in the estates' gardens, and the open fields leading to Neibelhiem's deep forest.

Highwind settled down on the bed as the female explored the little room with evident pleasure. There was one tense moment when Ice opened the bathroom and saw the large whirlpool tub. The Captain had to make a quick jump and grab as the female bolted for the door. It took him a few minutes to convince the shaking female that the tub was NOT a submersion tank but was for the pleasure of a relaxing soak. He left her in there happily playing with the knobs and turning on the hot and cold water as he lay back on the bed. DAMN… Rufus had spared no expense…this was SOOO comf….

The breeze coming in the window was cool and the night sky ablaze with stars when the blonde jerked out of a sound sleep. SHIT…he had crashed and burned! Ice must have just let him sleep rather than insist upon claiming her bed. HELL…the man dragged himself upright. He needed to find the golden Were and get her settled into bed. She needed her rest!

The mansion was very quiet as Cid wandered the halls looking for the female. The soft sound of music finally led him to the refurbished ballroom. Ice was standing by one of the tall windows looking out as she swayed slightly to the rhythm of the old time waltz. She smiled when she saw the blonde and her hands danced. Then she shrugged as he caught them in his own work roughened hands.

"Sorry doll…still don't speak fricken hand!" The Captain turned her and slid one hand down to span her narrow waist. "Hey…I'm not the shitten best at it, but would ya like ta fricken dance?" At her confused look he grinned…."Just relax and follow along with me!"

It took the flyer a couple of times around the floor before he remembered all of the steps to the simple waltz. The female easily followed his lead and by the time the first song ended and the second began, her lips had quirked up and her arctic eyes were shining. The Captain's sixth sense went off at the same time as his ears picked up a sound that was imprinted into his soul…the gentle rustling of leathery wings being folded. There was a hard tap on his shoulder.

"Ah HELL Ice…that bat winged bastard is behind me…isn't he?"

The female gave him a sweet smile and nodded as she came to a stop.

Chaos' talon-ed hand came into view and Cid found himself spun around.

"MIND IF I… CUT IN….HIGHWIND?"

The pilot hastily removed his hand from Ice's slim waist.

"Be my guest…."

To the blonde's utter amazement, the demon slipped a hand around HIS waist and whisked him across the dance floor. The pilot staggered the first few steps (after all…he was used to leading) but the Dark One's strength steadied him until he found the rhythm.

Cid's heart sped up not in fear but, much to his consternation, in anticipation as the elegant head dipped and warm breath brushed his ear.

"YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME LITTLE EAGLE, OF COURSE... DANCING AND FLYING ARE MUCH THE SAME…HMMMM?

Strong arms tucked him in closer as they glided along the floor and Highwind remembered the heat and pleasure that the graceful body pressed against his had given. Ah Hell….

"Damn it Chaos…I am not fricken gay!"

Gold eyes flared with amusement.

"NEITHER AM I….I HAVE JUST LEARNED THAT YOU TAKE PLEASURE WHERE YOU CAN GET IT… CIDNEY HIGHWIND. AFTER ALL…YOU NEVER KNOW THAT IT MIGHT BE THE LAST YOU WILL EVER HAVE. DID YOU NOT…..ENJOY….SOME OF WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?"

Cid was going to flat deny that he had LIKED any of what the demon had done (NOT done) but a quick dip, the brush of hot lips against his mouth and a soft nudge as a velvet wing stroked across his front had the words dying in his throat. He frantically grabbed at straws…

"Ah fuck….Chaos… Isn't Ice yer mate?"

A chuckle rumbled in the deep chest…

"HMMM…YES SHE IS….YOU SEE HIGHWIND, HER VIEWS ON SEX ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT THEN WHAT YOU ARE USED TO. YOU ARE AN ALPHA MALE AND ICE IS ATTRACTED TO YOU…." That awesome head tilted as they ended up back in front of the watching Were. "IN THIS CASE….I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM SHARING YOU WITH MY MATE!"

OKAY…Cid knew his mouth was hanging open but he just didn't care. The demon snickered and disengaged as Ice reached up with a soft hand to gently close his mouth before her mate whisked her away across the dimly lit floor. When the Captain did get his mind working again it was only to notice how beautiful the pair was as the ancient winged being led the graceful female through the intricate steps of a dance that had fallen into shadows many millennium ago.

* * *

I will try to get a couple of chapters up tomorrow before I go in for surgery. Might be a couple of days after that before I feel like doing any more. Thanks for your patience!


	31. Chapter 31

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and to my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 31

Abraham sipped fine cognac and silently watched Griffin as the barman finished closing for the night. It was very late, but since the elderly man had taken employment as the Shinra mansion's Premier Valet, this was really the only time that his duties allowed him away from the household. Also…the man servant had wanted to be sure that NOTHING that he did in this first month would arouse any type of suspicion. The males currently residing in that house were notorious for being able to sniff out anything that was not totally on the level. Abraham had walked in dangerous circles most of his very long life and he knew that the situation he was immersed in could quite possibly be the most volatile one yet.

It was a matter of pride to Abraham that not a single Were had been born or…created…since the day he had ascended, that he was not aware of. It was tradition set in stone that the Patriarch was responsible for inspecting and APPROVING every litter of kitlings that was born to a Family female. This was not a difficult task in that even though they were long lived…TRUE Were to Were pairings had a very low live birth rate. The numbers improved if a human was approved to undergo a…. Change(something he RARELY approved)…. but still, younglings were far and few between. All were appraised in their first days by The Patriarch, and any that he deemed unfit were disposed of. His Alpha Seconds…the sire's of said litters stood down and deferred to his decision if a youngling did not meet with his approval.

In the beginning he not only culled the weak but looked for potential candidates to be trained as Seconds AND he marked those that could become rivals. In these later years, especially after the loss of his life bonded mate he desperately sought a kit who had the potential for succession. His was an Alpha position that was filled by succession. The elder Alpha usually took centuries to groom a male of his bloodline for the time when he was ready to step down. Abraham would have stepped down decades ago except for the disaster that cost him his mate and his beloved son. With that loss it had become imperative that he continue in his leadership. Not one of his multitude of Seconds or Thirds had shown the strength of character or insight needed to lead the Family through these troubled times. AND with them being such long lived creatures…intelligence and INSIGHT were needed more than ambition and brute strength. If he were to die before he could confirm his successor…it would throw the Family into chaos as the Alpha males battled it out for the dominant position. This was something that must be avoided at all costs…their hidden existence amongst the humans was always a tenuous thing.

Abraham knew every Family member personally. The man had been stunned when he had opened the mansion door and found not one….but TWO unknown Weres standing on the marble steps, plus a first Generation Changeling. What the other black clad, golden clawed, intimidating being was….Abraham wasn't sure. His eyes had told him this was simply a human, but his instincts…they screamed at him…. RIVAL…walk with extreme caution!

Granted, the siblings looked different than Family…but he very much recognized the scent of their bloodline. Mariah had been in hidden seclusion, carrying HIS last litter when the disaster had struck. No one knew exactly what had happened, for the territory the elite group had been in was very remote. After one missed check in…it had only taken a few days to reach the last known den site…and it was as if there had never been any living thing there. ALL of Mariah's escort had just…vanished…and the site had been swept clean of every physical trace.

Oh…Abraham was not stupid…he had his suspicions… but decades of quiet espionage had revealed nothing of his mate's fate. Shinra's forces were exceptional in their ability to create cover ups. Even so…many of his Seconds had wanted the Family to RISE and declare open war against the humans. The Patriarch though…he had not preserved his bloodlines and protected the Families' very existence for centuries by taking ill thought out chances. Shinra had been a mighty force at the time, and without total proof as to Mariah's fate, the great male had stood firm against the younger one's desire for revenge. Although…it wasn't that the same desire did not burn as hotly in the ancient creature's heart.

Fine fingers slowly rotated the snifter…none of the anger that raged in this powerful being's soul made it to the cool grey eyes that studied the amber depths contained within. Rufus Shinra was scheduled to pay the mansion a visit, the boy had not even been born when Mariah and her litter had vanished. It would be…unfair…to arbitrarily blame the son for the sins of the father. Still… the Alpha intended to have his answers and he did NOT take it lightly that Shinra had stolen his mate and his offspring for their own twisted purposes. The quiet truce that Abraham had enforced on his Family where the humans were concerned, was a fragile thing at best. Its' very existence depended on how he reacted to what had been done to his children.

The Patriarch had heard some disquieting things in the past month concerning his kits…things that had included torture and …experimentation. This was very evident in the fact that the children of his loins were no longer wolf based. His heart twisted uneasily here…HE would have culled "the Troop" as they were born. Their first breaths would have been their last! The deformed creatures would never have gotten the chance to pass on their mutated DNA. Let alone create a Changeling. And…here the Elder found himself hating the whole human race for this fact… he might as of yet have to be the one to cull what by rights should have been destroyed at birth, HIS kits…his very last son and daughter. Right at the moment…WELL…. with the concurrent disasters of Meteor and Omega (and yes…he had known the minute he heard of the Deepground Hellhounds that Shinra had intimate knowledge of Werewolves!) the human race was very much diminished, and NOT in much of a position to defend itself!

A soft rustle drew his attention away from his disquieting inner thoughts as Griffin settled in the chair opposite him. Such was the look in the eyes that were the color of tempered steel, that Griffin automatically looked away as he rolled his head, exposing his throat. The glass lifted in a quiet toast.

"Thank the Gods Griffin for your finely tuned "trouble" radar….You were entirely correct as to your assessment of this situation. These are matters that I need to attend to…personally."

* * *

Yuffie stood at her bedroom window watching Rude and Whisper slowly move through the dance like moves of an odd blend of the Wushu and the Hau Kuen style of martial arts out on the back lawn. The young woman had laughed her ass off when she realized that the pair were teaching the Were-primate a form of battle skill nicknamed, Monkey Fist!

It seemed that the two Turks had taken the White under their wing so to speak and were augmenting the Were's considerable battle skills with some…finesse. His grab, rend and tear style worked well for the beast….but the male's almost human form had come into its own as the albino quickly absorbed the strike and fade fighting style that the team of assassins had perfected. The ninja sighed…she REALLY should be down there practicing with the pair. Ice and herself had made it a habit to join the males in their morning sessions. Yuffie actually looked forward to the lessons that the still agile pregnant Were gave her on fighting in her Changed form. The shin obi had returned the favor, instructing Ice in some of the more obscure hand to hand techniques that she had been taught.

Evidently the young ninja wasn't the ONLY one feeling lax this bright autumn morning as the gold and cinnamon figure of the other female was no where to be seen. Slender fingers absent mindedly turned a cell phone over and over again as the woman's thoughtful gaze appreciated the distinct contrast of black and vivid white against the emerald green of the lawn. Slight movement in the gold and red foliage of the forest attracted the girl's sharp gaze. Ah….it seemed that there were ALWAYS wolves lurking on the border of the estate's extensive property. Vincent and the Turks had gone out several times, hunting the threat, but it was as if the things always knew they were coming. The men inevitably came back empty handed. Still…as long as the creatures caused no problems…eh… live and let live. They seemed to be keeping the monster population in the mountains around Neibelhiem in check…so the great beasts DID serve a purpose.

And….speaking of purpose, Yuffie leaned her forehead against the cool glass. HER purpose in life, at least as far as her father was concerned, was to get married to a royal suitor and produce an heir to the Wuttain throne. It did not matter to Godo that his young daughter was in love with Vincent…no…. Yuffie was well aware, that match would never be approved. As elegant and refined as the gunslinger was, he did NOT have a drop of royalty in the exotic elixir that flowed in his veins. The princess knew that it was HER responsibility to her country and her people to produce heirs. Even if she could somehow convince Godo and the powers that be that Valentine was the ONE…the demon-ridden man's adamant refusal to have children was totally unacceptable.

The gunslinger had made himself VERY scarce since they arrived. Part of this, she was sure, was the man's horrific memories of what had happened to him here. He had only made it down to the refurbished labs once…and this was just to confirm that they had truly been changed from the medieval seeming torture chambers they had been when he was an unwilling…guest. But, the girl also knew that Valentine was avoiding the issue by avoiding her. Vincent was worried about bringing monsters into the world? What in the hell did the man think SHE was now? Once her people found out that their princess had been turned into a beast (of course why THIEF was okay and beast wasn't was beyond her!)…well… all bets would be off. It would spell disaster for Godo and the throne. She had come to the decision this morning that IF Rufus could pull a miracle out of his ass and fix the situation she found herself in, she would bite the bullet and give in to what her destiny decreed.

Yuffie had just gotten off the phone with Godo. The man had been ecstatic when his daughter had informed him to compile a list of suitable men. As soon as she was done taking care of the current….situation….she would be coming home to take care of her…responsibilities.

A soft knock had the girl hastily scrubbing silent tears off of her face as she turned. The door opened and Abraham came in carrying a breakfast tray. Yuffie had learned fast that if she didn't show up for breakfast, it inevitably came to her in the form of whatever the solemn, elderly man deemed appropriate. Surprisingly, the man servant (with help from Elizabeth she was sure) had a true knack for putting together something that she just couldn't help but scarf down. That quicksilver gaze studied her face for a moment, then the man quietly set the tray down, uncovered her food and made a very slight gesture with his hand that practically ORDERED her to sit down and eat! The girl was settling down into the chair before she even realized that she had jumped to follow that silent order. A quick smile ghosted across her features as she wondered how Vincent…the man who NEVER seemed to eat…was dealing with this sort of thing. The ninja was very good at reading people, Abraham might SEEM the quiet, self effacing type but the girl had a strong feeling that these still waters ran very deep indeed! She would love to be a fly on the wall when Valentine clashed wills with this unassuming, grey eyed man.

* * *

Ice lay in her very comfortable bed, in her lovely comfortable room and was miserable! Her muscles ached…her breasts hurt.(all four of them) and her stomach was rolling in very unpleasant ways. If anyone had mentioned that being pregnant was THIS unpleasant she would have just kicked Chaos in the balls and run for her life. The golden female huffed softly at THAT particular mental image. She knew she should get up and join Yuffie for their morning sparring session and then breakfast but just the thought had her ulping and curling into a ball. She would NOT throw up….that was a torture that she had learned long ago to avoid. It was hard enough getting things to go DOWN her throat let alone having those same things come back up. Maybe if she just lay here and did NOT think about food….. There was a soft scratch at the door and Ice sat up in alarm…OH NO, she had forgotten about Abraham! The smell of barely cooked, coddled eggs preceded the manservant into the room. Cool grey eyes just blinked as there was a blur of motion and Ice disappeared into the bathroom.

Ice hung over the toilet, her stomach trying to exit out her damaged throat. There was a soft motion behind her and long, warm fingers carefully pulled her cinnamon mane back out of the way. Abraham gently rubbed her back with the other hand as she gave a dry retch…there was really nothing in her belly to bring up. The female heard his rich voice murmur that maybe he should just bring her up some tea? Ice took a moment to feel a little sorry for herself…Where was her mate? Where was that strong, wonderful…DAMNED… winged JERK! HELL with kicking…she should have taken those balls and EATEN them…OH! BAD image…that thought did not help her heaves at all!

* * *

Vincent spun, twisting away as a Changeling tried to set its' slavering jaws into his shoulder. Bringing Cerberus around, the gunman unloaded three shots at point blank range into the thing's misshapen head. He felt a twinge of satisfaction as said head promptly disintegrated. Valentine had taken the time to create rounds that were laced with silver just for these occasions. They were very effective in killing a Were changeling…BUT… had the severe drawback of only being reliably accurate at very close range. As a result, the person using them inevitably took some damage from slashing teeth and claws.

Rufus had lost quite a number of operatives in this way trying to deal with the pockets of Changelings that kept appearing around the Midgar ruins. All it took was a saliva touched scratch and a defender quite literally turned into the enemy. Shinra was at his wits end dealing with not only the loss of troops but a serious moral problem as soldiers ended up having to kill friends who had just the day before been defending their backs. Both Rude and Reno had been called away from the mansion several times in the past month to be a part of these extermination details and only their incredible skill and pure unadulterated luck had brought them back unharmed. When Vincent found out the risk Rufus' people were taking trying to defend the public, he had stepped up to volunteer, after all…he was immune to the deadly virus.

A heavy weight landed on the ex-Turk's back and knife like claws dug in before he could reach up with his own silver capped talons and tear the thing off. He slammed the writhing, screaming body against a wall, pinned it there with his flesh arm, and with one long stroke, disemboweled it. WELL….almost immune! He could hear Chaos keeping up a running litany of ancient curses as he dealt with the damage. One of these days, the gunman thought wryly, he was going to have to ask what some of those nasty sounding phrases meant. He would LOVE to use a couple of them on Highwind. A quick shot put the gutted beast out of its misery as Valentine made a fast reconnaissance of the area. The Galian beast confirmed that there were no more Beasts at large and the man slowly stood down. A call in to Reno, and he could soon hear the thump of copter blades as the Turk skillfully brought his machine in to land behind makeshift barricades. It would take little time for Shinra's forces to do a sweep and clean-up and then the civilians who had been evacuated would be allowed to return to the area.

As the exhausted gunman slid into the passenger seat he caught a flash of pale eyes as Reno's sideways glance took in his shredded shirt. (Vincent never HAD been able to make Yuffie tell him what she had done with his cloak!)

"Ah man….YO…I am getting really tired of cleaning your blood offa my seats!"

Valentine shrugged.

"Better mine than yours."

The ex-Turk tiredly sagged back, closed his almost gold eyes and tried to relax so that Chaos could have total reign in his aching body.

"Hmph…yeah…well…"

Red brows lowered as the man spared his passenger a concerned glance even as he delicately maneuvered the machine back up into the clear sky.

"You okay?"

* * *

As he took in the tired warrior's slight nod…Reno turned his attention to getting them to Shinra's headquarters as quickly as possible. They had actually come to the Healing Lodge for an arranged pick up of Tseng and Rufus. The President was finally going to be introduced to the Weres, a meeting that Tseng was very much looking forwards to. There had been an outbreak while they were in route so Vincent had taken the time to divert and deal with it.

Reno studied the quiet man out of the corner of his eye. These dangerous… excursions… were taking their toll on the ex-Turk. Tseng had been very concerned that these extermination runs were becoming more frequent. The head of Shinra's science department had put forth the theory that the two unaccounted for siblings were causing the outbreaks and maybe Rufus should send his vaunted Turks into the ruins to hunt them down. Reno thought it very strange that the two remaining Troop members would be causing problems NOW. From what Whisper had told him, the ONLY Were who had prowled Edge looking for prey was Titan and that monster was dead. Both Ice and the White had been adamant that Ghost, the remaining brother did not have the….confidence….to mingle with humans and Vixen was smart enough to avoid them at all costs.

Still…this did not help the fact that they were having to call upon Valentine more and more often. Tseng had shared with his Second his worries on the demon ridden man overextending himself trying to deal with these outbreaks alone. Even with the risk, they were going to have to figure out a better type of back up for the alleged immortal. Reno had included Vincent's brush with death because of Sergeant's attack in his initial report and the quiet head of the Turks had been more than alarmed at how close the gunslinger's demon had come to NOT being able to deal with damage inflicted by a Were.

Reno had made the suggestion that Whisper would be the perfect ally to back the gunman and his suggestion had been met with resistance. It seemed that Rufus did NOT want to turn a dangerous beast loose without some type of guaranteed control. When the redhead had started up from his chair…practically bristling with outrage at the offhand comment, his boss had made a hidden gesture. It basically meant stand down…we will deal with this later. The Turk had controlled himself with difficulty but had understood a little more when Tseng had waited until they were alone and then explained the…discrepancies… between what Reno and Rude were reporting and what Dr. Destinie was putting forth in her reports. The Head of Intelligence had formed his own opinion on things and had a trip to the Mansion planned with Rufus so that they could see for themselves just exactly what Whisper and Ice were.

A sideways glance confirmed that Valentine seemed to be asleep…thank the GODS Rufus had NOT made that ill advised comment in the demon ridden, beast possessed man's presence. A crosswind buffeted the copter and Reno swore softly as he quickly compensated. There was a glimmer of gold as one of Vincent's eyes slitted open.

"A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR FLYING WOULD BE APPRECIATED….TURK. I WOULD HATE TO EXPERIENCE A….WHAT DID YOU CALL IT?… AH YES…A ROUGH LANDING WHILST BEING INSIDE ONE OF YOUR MACHINES…I CAN VERIFY THAT HAVING A….COPTER… DROPPED ON ME WAS NO FUN WHEN I EXPERIENCED ONE OF YOUR ILLUSTRIOUS LANDINGS FROM THE OUTSIDE…..HMM!"

Smart ass demon….What did HE know about flying? Wait…Well…FINE! It wasn't Reno's fault that Chaos had NO appreciation for the way a TRUE seat of your pants pilot flew!. STILL…Reno kept his attention strictly on what he was doing until they came in for a soft landing on Shinra's roof.

* * *

Abraham received word that Valentine and Reno would be returning within the hour. He quickly made his way to the Turk's room to let Whisper know that Rufus Shinra would be arriving with them and to make sure that the young male was dressed and ready.

A quiet knock elicited a soft,

"Its open."

Whisper was standing by the window, anxiously watching the sky. Abraham studied the Were for a moment, taking note of the narrowed red eyes and soft lips that were set in a thin, pained line. The valet's age frosted, chestnut eyebrows arched up in surprise as without warning, the white flashed from his almost human form to the beast than back to human in the space of a minute. The Albino stifled a curse and just barely managed to stop himself from repeating the cycle, AGAIN.

The man seemed not to notice as crimson eyes glanced his way, trying to gauge his reaction to the Were's lapse of control, as he sorted through the closet. The Valet carefully laid a change of clothes on the bed and this time a frown marred his calm features as Whisper's form rippled again. The albino growled softly and flinched when cool hands settled on his tense shoulders…

"Are you okay young man?"

Those broad shoulders sagged.

"NO…Reno says I must show Rufus that I am in control at all times. I CANNOT seem the beast today. I MUST appear as human as possible…and this is hard! The beast always dominates when we are stressed or unsure. Rude says that it is very important that Mr. Shinra view me as a man and not think that I am just a beast!"

"And do YOU know what you are, Whisper?"

Abraham's nimble fingers combed through and then began braiding the creamy mane. The young male unconsciously started to relax as his body recognized the familiar ritual of being groomed.

The Were sighed and his tagged ear twitched as the manservant gently de-tangled a wisp of hair from the piece of metal and added it to the braid.

"An experiment…and a failed one at that. I am property of Shinra. If Rufus does not find me acceptable…" Again that little tag flashed in the sun as the delicate ear it adorned flattened. "He will have me destroyed."

The clever hands paused, and a fingertip lightly brushed that inconspicuous piece of metal. If Whisper had been able to see the RAGE that glazed those mercurial eyes for a moment…he would have been alarmed. Still, Abraham's stoic face remained calm and the tone of his baritone voice did not change.

"Are you afraid of death….is that why you are having problems controlling…the beast?"

Whisper snorted,

"Oh no…death is not what I fear….I am an omega male, a rogue, and an "aberration" to boot…I have lived with the reaper as my companion my whole life. No…I just do NOT want Reno or Rude to be the ones ordered to euthanize this… specimen. I don't think Reno's soul could survive it. And if he can't obey his Alpha's order…Well, Rude would have to…"

Whisper did not finish the thought, but Abraham did not need him to. He was well aware of what being a Second to a powerful male entailed.

The Valet finished his work and neatly wove the end of Whisper's braid back up though the strands to hold it in place.

"Hasn't Rude been teaching you exercises on finding your center and holding to it in order to remain calm and focused during battle?"

The heavily maned head nodded under his hand.

"Well then, those same exercises can translate into everyday life. They will help you in stabilizing your form. Just take a deep breath, go through your mantras to find your center and hold to it, no matter what your emotions are doing."

Abraham's lips quirked up in a slight smile as he felt the young male go very still under his hand. As he was getting ready to slip quietly out of the room Whisper's light voice stopped him.

"That does help…thank you Abraham."

The man servant paused before leaving.

"You should not worry, son. If Shinra cannot see what a gem he has in you…well …if that boy is as much a fool as his father was, he will NOT be in a position of leadership for long!"

Whisper's head whipped around at this comment…but the man was already through the door and gone before his surprised mind could formulate a response to the statement. Abraham did not see the contemplative look that settled over the White's face after he left…that had SOUNDED to the omega male like something a Troop member would say…it was NOT something he would expect to hear coming out of a human's mouth.

* * *

"Stop, squirming Ice!"

Marion patiently waited for the golden female to quit wiggling around on the exam table. Even with the removal of the heavy restraints and the addition of padding, clean sheets and a pillow, The female still HATED to be on it. Usually, the Doctor took the blood for Yuffie's shots up in Ice's room were the female was much more relaxed. Today though, she had wanted to perform an OBGYN exam after the draw and needed the little stirrups that were attached to the exam table in the lab. It was having her heels in these that was causing Ice to shift around nervously, trying to get comfortable. The Were's elegant hands flowed through a terse dance as she lifted her cinnamon maned head to glare balefully at the Vet..

"_This SUCKS! How can anyone lay still in this position? Is this really necessary?" _

It took Marion a moment to translate what the female was saying in her head. All of them had been taking lessons from the Turks and Valentine so that they would understand Ice if she needed them. Yuffie was a little quicker…

"Suck it up Ice…ALL women have to put up with this shit! It is just a part of life."

The ninja had some compassion for the wiggling Were, after all the female had experienced some horrendous things while strapped on an exam table….BUT… since Yuffie had been putting up with these exams since before her first cycle, the princess' sympathy was slight.

There was a soft snort from the uncomfortable female…

"_ALL women? Even…white coats?" _

Pale eyes narrowed and Ice's soft lips curled up as Yuffie giggled while Marion gave a solemn nod.

"_Well…if that is the case_…"

The golden female's head flopped back, her opinion of this clearly written in every line of her tense body. The Vet warmed her gel in her hands and performed the internal exam as quickly as she could. The soft growl that escaped the damaged throat was an unneeded remainder to be gentle. All there felt as it should and Marion's attention was already focused on the next part of the procedure. The little Vet did not see Ice's arctic eyes fly wide when she pulled the speculum out of its warming drawer. The female, upon seeing the odd shaped instrument, was off of the table like a shot, dragging her sheet with her. Yuffie was NOT in her beast form, and the small belly that Ice had already developed didn't slow the female down one little bit. The Were beat the ninja to the door with at least three feet to spare.

Ah HELL….Marion glared evilly at the now empty exam table, Damn IT! Maybe those restraints weren't such a bad idea after all! The narrowed eyes fell on the instrument she still held and a wry smile twisted the scientist's lips. Well… she would give the female this one, Ice probably WASN'T the first female that had wanted to pull a screaming exit out of the room when it was brought out…the thing did look like a medieval torture device! GODS… she hoped every exam wasn't going to be like this. With an exasperated sigh, the little Vet joined the chase, forgotten speculum still in hand.

* * *

Vincent was the last to enter the mansion's imposing front door. (Of course, Abraham helped with this impression just by being the one who opened said door!) The gunman wasn't sure why the elderly man set his nerves on alert mood. The man certainly wasn't big or imposing in physical stature. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, his every movement unconsciously telecasting sheer self confidence. Or maybe it was the Valet's steely, unflinching, grey gaze. The Galian grumbled softly in the back of the ex-Turk's mind. The beast was uncomfortable with the fact that he could not get a true reading on the manservant's scent. Abraham wore a cologne that was not strong, but was blended in such a way that it combined with and changed his true scent.

Abraham showed the group into the sitting room. Rufus was now well enough that he was out of his chair, but the young man still needed the support of an elegant cane. Valentine was not fooled by the blonde's aura of fragility. The President had been trained in combat by the very best and even with his bad leg, he was quite able to defend himself. The ex-Turk knew for a fact that the ornate stick that Shinra used had at least one type of weapon hidden in or on it. Of course, this was a mote point. With the silent Tseng always at his back and Reno shadowing their every move, the chance of the boy ever having to defend himself was slim to none!

A motion in the great hall leading in captured the gunman's crimson gaze. Rude and Whisper entered followed by Elizabeth who carried a tray of refreshments. For a moment Vincent felt a pang of sympathy for Whisper. The Albino's ears were so flattened, they almost could not be seen….and this was saying something as his… braided?… snowy mane was also sucked tight, betraying the Were's nervousness. As the pair approached Shinra, Valentine noted how Tseng moved around to stand slightly in front and to the side of his charge. Glowing ruby also caught the very slight widening of the Turk's inscrutable eyes as he realized how very large the Troop male was. Rufus, to his credit, did not move or change expression. He just studied the advancing male with slightly narrowed, blue eyes.

Rude, who stayed at Whisper's side, gave a slight nod towards his partner. Reno straightened out of his customary slouch, and made the introductions.

"Yo…boss, this is Whisper. Whisper, meet Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra corporation."

One slender hand made a languid rolling motion that encompassed the still form of the Head of the Turks.

"And… this is Tseng, the President's Second, and my Alpha."

Vincent hid a smile as both of Tseng's dark eyebrows shot up at the unorthodox title. Whisper's sharp gaze remained focused on the silent assassin and he gave a slight nod as his instinctual assessment agreed with just WHY this unimposing male was Reno's superior. Those bloody eyes flicked to Rufus and Valentine could just SEE the wheels turning in the Were's mind as he tried to figure how it was that Tseng was the Second ranked of the two. There would always, it seemed, be a chasm between how the two species thought and operated… culturally.

The sound of running feet and shouting in the great hall snapped everyone's attention to the entrance just as the gold and cinnamon form of Ice came shooting through it. Elizabeth had to do a quick twist and lift to keep her tray from being dumped as the panicked Were blew by her. Ice was naked, and running as if the hounds of Hell were on her long tailed ass. A soft white sheet billowed in her wake, one edge clutched in a strong hand. It wasn't a Hell hound that followed right on her heels, it was a ninja who was laughing so hard that she was having problems keeping up. Valentine tensed as Tseng…unaware that Ice was no threat, stepped in front of the white suited Rufus, his hand drawing a pistol from it's hidden shoulder harness.

As quick as the top dog was, Whisper was faster by far. He stepped towards Rufus. ALL of the Turk's reacted including the only living retired one in history. Vincent's hand dropped to Cerberus, Chaos and the Galian suddenly very much alive and active in his mind. He would have no choice but to protect Ice if it came down to it. The demonic duo would insure that! The Albino's bloody gaze flashed his way as Whisper turned, neatly intercepting his sister before she could accidentally mow Shinra down. Ice was running so mindlessly that she didn't even try to stop, the female slammed into the wide chest of her brother with an audible…THUMP! Whisper rocked back at the impact, the force of it driving a soft grunt through his clenched teeth, but he stood like an immovable, silky furred boulder. With fast, sure moves he caught the sheet and spun the stunned female around, deftly covering her nakedness. A strong tail slipped around Ice's slight belly bulge, holding the impromptu garment in place. The White's light voice was remarkably calm.

"President….this is my sister, Ice. Please excuse her if she acts a little odd sometimes, she had her brains scrambled by a bullet at a young age and the damage sometimes affects her behavior."

Gleaming ruby eyes never left the elegant blonde's face as Whisper gave his gasping sibling a slight shake and his silken lips just brushed the edge of her delicate, metal tagged ear as he nodded towards Shinra's tense hound.

"Ice…this is Tseng…Reno's Alpha and Second to the man he is currently protecting. That one is Rufus Shinra, Heir to Shinra Corporation and as such…." Here those carmine eyes narrowed and a touch of bitterness entered the usually gentle voice. "HE… is the man who owns us!"

The Were's expressive ears had risen to a more aggressive position causing his I.D tag to flash in the light. Whisper's creamy mane ruffed out making the male suddenly very intimidating.

Valentine started a little as Chaos rumbled,

"NICE… YOU TELL HIM…. BOY. RUB THE LITTLE BASTARD'S NOSE IN HIS FATHER'S EVIL DEEDS!"

The Dark One had NEVER liked Rufus.

Oh SHIT!

"Shut up, Chaos we do not need a blood bath here!"

Vincent had a right to be worried. Tseng's gun was leveled on Ice and the ex-Turk was positive that there would be silver laced into the ammo loaded in its' clip. Rude had his weapon out and Reno had coiled, his E.M.R. in one hand. The red head's pale eyes darted between Whisper and Tseng. They had ignited to blue flame as the Mako in the Turk's system fired up in response to his adrenaline rush. Valentine had a sudden sinking feeling that the man had no clue as to which way he would go if violence broke out.

"HOST….ABRAHAM IS THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING! LOOK AT HIM!"

Crimson shot with gold slashed the Valet's way and Vincent's elegant brows furrowed down in shock. The man servant's eyes were narrowed and they glimmered like steel heated to the molten point. The man still stood as if completely at ease…BUT his entire aura had changed. A feeling of ancient power rolled off of the man in an overwhelming wave and Vincent actually let Chaos push forwards in reaction to the perceived threat.

"INTERESTING…."

This was a rumbled growl as the Demon Lord suddenly recognized a true rival.

* * *

Tseng watched the lovely female in utter fascination. The pupils in those silvery blue eyes dilated, and then shrank as the creature's inner eyelids flicked across. The Turk could tell that the Were was waging a war within herself, her intellect battling the beast to rise to the top. The man's trigger finger relaxed a little as her long tail slid out from under the sheet and coiled lightly around her brother's thick wrist. Ice licked her lips, flattened her ears and made an odd rolling motion with her head, exposing her scarred and ridged throat. The assassin totally lost his inscrutable look as the slender hands flowed through a graceful dance.

"_Greetings, Tseng…Ghost of Steel." _The cinnamon maned head nodded at Rufus, "_Thank you, Alpha of Shinra Troop for providing us this lovely Home. My brother and I are quite happy here." _

Shinra's top dog felt a light touch on his hip and he reluctantly stepped aside at Rufus' quiet demand. The man was very aware that the silver/blue and the crimson took careful note of his submission to the younger, crippled blonde.

* * *

Marion came skidding into the sitting room just as the elegantly dressed blonde man stepped up to face Ice. The little Vet wisely stopped and held her position just slightly behind and to the side of Yuffie. Taking in the Turk's battle readiness, the coiled deadliness of the rapier-like man that accompanied Shinra (EVERYBODY knew who HE was) and Vincent's quiet, lethal stillness, it did NOT take a rocket scientist to figure out that this situation could blow up into bloodshed in the blink of an eye. The Doctor had to give Rufus credit for courage or foolishness. The man stood face to face with Ice (who in typical primate fashion, ducked her head so she wouldn't be looking him directly in the eyes.) and Whisper's six foot seven frame towered over the both of them. One manicured finger tipped Ice's chin up…

"Happy? Then, why are you running from Dr. Becket. Has she mistreated you?"

The words were spoken in a silky, cultured voice. Marion suppressed a slight shudder….damn! That man was SEXY. And being as how she was living in a household just packed FULL of testosterone driven, masculine…hell lets be honest….HOT male flesh. (not the least of whom was Valentine with his dark, imposing…Oh My Gods! Give me some of that!…demon!)This was saying something! The woman stifled a smile, she wasn't the ONLY female in the room feeling the man's sexuality! Ice's pale eyes flashed up to meet the deep blue ones and a pink tongue tip slipped out the corner of her mouth as her hands practically flew.

"_Oh NO….Marion is wonderful. She is very kind to me." _Ice looked the Vet's way and winced as her whole posture changed to express her utter mortification.

"_I do not like the lab and became frightened. It isn't Dr. Beckets fault that I…panicked! PLEASE do not send her away_!"

Marion stepped forward a little as the pregnant female got agitated. She kept her words soft.

"Mr. Shinra, Ice is not the first woman who has felt the need to run screaming out of a doctor's office during an OBGYN exam."

Rufus just looked at her, then his gaze flicked to Yuffie as the young woman solemnly nodded in agreement. A quick glance at the instrument still held loosely in the Vet's hand and a light smile tugged at the man's thin lips.

"I see….I assume that you did not finish the exam? Can it not be done somewhere other than the lab where Ice might be more at ease?"

Marion shrugged,

"I still need to run some tests, and it needs to be in the lab because I want to use the ultrasound and take a look at the babies."

Ice's cinnamon head snapped around, and her tail let go of Whisper as she turned so she could see the Vet. The prehensile length of it curled in excitement around Shinra's bad leg. The man's almost white brows tried to crawl right off of his forehead. Something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker came from Reno's general direction.

"_Really…you can SEE my kits_? _You didn't TELL me that_!"

Marion grinned at the female's obvious excitement.

"It was going to be a surprise."

"_OH….oh…can it still be a surprise? I will go back to the lab_!"

The wistful look on Ice's sweet face was impossible to resist. And doubly lethal on the males in the room.

"Yo….come on Doc!"

"Man…you had better say yes…"

Rude went so far as to take off his shades and pin the scientist with an intense brown glare.

"**See** **the** **PUPPIES?…..oh… I DO want to see our puppies**…..?"

Everybody's heads jerked around to stare at Vincent. That rough growling voice had not belonged to him or Chaos'. The gunman actually had a pink tint to his pale cheeks as he slammed a hand over his mouth, Abraham all but forgotten!

"Sorry…"he mumbled around his fingers. "The Galian beast gets a little excited when it comes to the…um…puppies."

Even Shinra was not immune, he carefully pulled the female away from her brother and gave her a slight push towards the door.

"Doctor….I want an ultrasound to check the health of Ice's kits done…A.S.A.P. This is a direct order!"

He was rewarded with a flash of pale eyes and a gape mouthed grin. Ice didn't seem to care if all of her teeth showed or not.

Marion smiled and gestured back the way they had come.

"The last one back to the labs gets to clean the rat cages!"

Ice had not made one step when Reno's voice cracked out.

"Ice….TAIL!"

The female winced, unwrapped her tail from around Rufus' leg, gave him an apologetic little pat with it and then quite literally, high tailed it out of the room, sheet and all. Yuffie was right on her heels when Rufus's silky voice brought her to a quick halt.

"Princess…I received an interesting call from your father the other day. It seems that we need to talk."

Valentine's ruby eyes narrowed and there was a flash of honey gold in the girl's dark gaze.

"Not no… but HELL no, Shinra. Don't even consider it! You would NOT survive the honeymoon!"

Then the young woman disappeared down the hallway before the young man could respond.

* * *

Tseng maintained his silence, his analytical mind absorbing and filtering through the data he was being presented with. These creatures were most definitely NOT what he had been expecting. Reno had been right in insisting that they come and meet the siblings in person. And speaking of Reno….Unfathomable brown eyes shifted to his Second. He had been unaware that his top team had become so…attached… to their assignment. He would have to discuss this with them and Rufus.

Even as his mind ticked things over, the top dog was well aware of everything going on around him. Tseng was the first to turn when Vincent hissed and then staggered. The ex-Turk steadied himself, the fingers of his good hand pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a severe head ache and the Turk distinctly heard him murmur.

"FINE… I give in!…..both of you… STOP IT! You can go!"

And then… spoken so everyone could hear.

"If you will please excuse me. It seems that I MUST go down to the lab."

These words were hardly out of his mouth when Valentine's form blurred and Tseng was hard pressed to keep his neutral mask in place. The demon that stood in the gunman's place was Chaos but there were hints of the Galian beast thrown in. Gleaming gold eyes held the man's stunned gaze as Chaos/Galian gave himself a little shake, the dusky wings flicking out and then rustling closed. As the Dark one exited the room it was all Tseng could do to keep his mouth from falling open. Oh My Gods! Chaos had a TAIL….and…it was wagging! They could all clearly hear the demon lord talking to himself.

"NO GALIAN…WE WILL NOT HAVE TO CLEAN THE RAT CAGES. IT IS VALENTINE'S FAULT WE WERE DELAYED…SO…HE WILL BE THE ONE WHO HAS TO CLEAN THEM."

The Turk's attention turned back towards his charge and the man did not see Abraham's head lift as a sweep of one wing wafted Chaos' scent the Valet's way as the demon passed. The elderly man staggered slightly and his metallic eyes flew wide. Those strong lips opened as the man peered after the retreating demon. Silently, almost pleading Abraham breathed the name…

"Galian?!"

* * *

Rufus looked up (and he did have to look UP quite a ways) to meet Whisper's ruby gaze.

"I understand that my Turks have taken it upon themselves to train you?"

The white male gave him a hesitant nod.

"Good….why don't we go out to the lawn and you can demonstrate how far your training has progressed?"

The President hung back a little and let his Turks catch up with him before they followed the young male out to the lawn. His face was set in its' usual placid expression but the blue eyes were furious as he tossed a small electronic device to Tseng.

"Get those DAMNED tags out of their ears. I want Whisper enlisted into the Turks as a Rookie, he is eligible for all benefits. AND… write it up so that Ice receives a monthly stipend from the family accounts. I won't repeat the mistakes that were made with the remnants. My Gods CURSED father brought them into this world, and by destroying their people he made damned sure that they were totally dependant on Shinra Corporation. As far as I am concerned…those two are NOT Shinra property! They are to be considered part of the Shinra family with ALL of the privileges that entails!"

* * *

Chaos did not MIND sharing this form with the Galian beast. After all, the beast was MUCH more excited about having puppies then he was. Lets face it, the Demon Lord was not the most emotional of the demons that occupied the Host's mind. Still, it was with…interest… that the Dark one watched as Dr Beckett's hand traveled over the little bulge in Ice's firm belly, looking for the developing fetuses. Dusky lips curved a little as the winged male felt Ice's tail coil around his arm and wrist, it's serpentine grip betraying his mate's excitement and nerves.

Tail?…that brought him back to the thoughts he had been having about sharing this form. Something did not feel….right. A soft snicker from behind had him glancing at Yuffie. The warrior child looked as if she was strangling herself trying to keep from laughing and her bright gaze was glued to his ass. Now granted…the Demon felt he had a better than average butt… BUT… her fixation was making him paranoid. He finally opened and lifted a dark wing so he could check his posterior himself.

"GALIAN!….WHAT THE FUCK?"

A soft, shaggy tail waved at him and OH MY GODS! It was attached to his BUTT!

A rumbling growl shook his large frame.

"BEAST….THAT HAD BETTER BE GONE BY THE TIME I COUNT TO THREE….ONE!"

The Galian beast whined softly.

"**But Chaos you can't really show your appreciation of the puppies without a tail to wag!"**

"TWO…I'AM NOT AS APPRECIATIVE OF PUPPIES AS YOU ARE GALIAN! THE THOUGHT OF HAVING…OFFSPRING… DOES NOT EXCITE ME THE WAY IT SEEMS TO EXCITE YOU. MY CLASS OF DEMON DOES NOT HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF A PATERNAL INSTINCT…..THR…"

The conversation was interrupted by Marion's' triumphant crow…

"Gotcha!"

Golden eyes widened as shadowy forms became clear on the screen. There was a confusing mix of heads, limbs, and snaky tails.

The Galian tried to push his point.

"**BUT Chaos…these puppies are…"**

The soft patter of multiple heartbeats filled the room and the Demon Lord's golden eyes turned butter soft.

"…**.ours!"**

"MINE!"

This was articulated in a soft purr. As one long talon slowly traced a path on Ice's velvet stomach, circling around each of the four hearts that beat on the ultrasound's screen, the Demon Lord seemed unaware that his tail was wagging so fast that his velvety wing leather rippled in the breeze it created.

* * *

May not post again for a few days...got surgery in the morning...will be back when I am up to it.


	32. Chapter 32

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters I own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters.

The Orphans Of Cerberus chapter 32

"Move yer asses people!"

A hard fist flashed out driving one ragged grunt into the dirt. The scientist didn't even glance down as he stepped over the twitching form. The usual result of one of his Mako enhanced blows landing was one less specimen in the labs. It was no great loss. Their continuing Hellhound drops in Midgar were the perfect distractions. Along with keeping Shinra (and Valentine) stretched thin and hopping, it allowed their raids on the smaller outlying towns to go almost unnoticed and these brought in a steady supply of lab fodder. The victims that were…hehehe…LUCKY enough to not get turned into changelings immediately, became very willing slaves. The scientist usually picked the strongest prisoners, the ones most likely to cause trouble and publicly broke them. Then, all it took was letting the new arrivals watch Titan have his way with the wrecks that actually survived the man's brutality. (The great male could care less if his sexual rewards were male or female, he used both with equal enthusiasm!) After the rest witnessed the resulting transformations, Duprey had NO problem getting complete obedience.

Although…. when it came time to load the hard to control, very dangerous Hellhounds there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm from his free work force. The plan was to drop the pack of infectious monsters into Neibelhiem in order to draw Valentine and the Turks out of the mansion leaving it open to a raid. Angelique was already in route to rendezvous there. The Head of Research would cause no alarm with her arrival…she was expected. Her visit was intended to facilitate getting them in.

A quick glance at the darkening sky with it's lowering clouds had Bernard swearing. They had a very narrow window in the weather for this operation. Angelique had planned it so that the developing blizzard would work in their favor. Neibelhiem's ferocious winter winds and mountain snow would keep any aerial search parties grounded. Ground forces would fare no better, these mountains had their killer reputation for a reason!

Duprey did NOT want to get caught in the sky when the full force of this storm closed in! He turned to the massive bulk of his Second,

"Titan…get them moving!"

The great beast did not hesitate. He stalked forward, awesome wedge shaped head held low, mighty jaws gaped in a savage grin. The beast was followed closely by his subordinate brother, the always silent Shadow. The man watched in satisfaction as frightened faces glanced the dark pairs way and the pace of the loading reached a frantic level.

* * *

Ice padded quietly towards the kitchen, grumbling to herself about the stairs. She loved her room, BUT as her pregnancy progressed, getting to and from it was becoming more and more difficult. The Were understood now why Vixen had ALWAYS conceived while in her beast form. Its' long waist and deep ribcage was much better adapted for carrying multiple kits. Not to mention that balancing her expanding girth on just two legs was becoming more and more difficult! Ice stopped for a moment and leaned against the wall to take a breather. Being out of breath was a new experience for her and she did NOT like the feeling. Her kits protested it also… squirming around, kicking, fighting for position in the cramped space. Thank the GODS that Troop pregnancies only lasted five months. The female had been absurdly grateful that she WASN'T human when Marion had offhandedly mentioned that their gestation was a whole nine months. She only had one more month to deal with the discomfort. Of course human females usually only had one kit to deal with, not a litter of four!

The Were's lovely features pulled down into a panting scowl. This was ridiculous! She had just gotten herself settled comfortably upstairs to rest a little before the Head of Research got here, when her peace had been interrupted by an evil and insidious thought.

There was ice cream with her name on it down in the kitchen!

No really…it literally had HER name written on it. Chaos had put it on there after the last gallon he had made a late night, gotta craving, MUST have it, ice cream flight to get, had mysteriously vanished. This way, the demon said as he casually printed ICE in big letters, there could be NO excuse of "I didn't know it was for Ice" when he caught SOMEONE other than her (won't name names, but HE had red hair) scarfing it down fast enough to get brain freeze. Said redhead had definitely paled a little at the darkly evil glare that pinned him where he sat working out a plan to get the ice cream and blame Rude for it. Ice had added a wicked, fang showing smile to her glare…just for good measure.

* * *

Vincent stifled a soft hiss as he carefully settled his aching body on the couch in the great room. The simple act of resting his weight against the cushions aggravated wounds received on his last extermination mission. Chaos had recommended, and he had grudgingly allowed, Marian to cleanse and stitch the more serious of his wounds after the latest incident. Even with the aid of a low level CURE, there was only so much the demon Lord could do with the Were inflicted bites. The gunman's lithe frame was becoming a map work of new injuries overlaid on the slowly healing old.

What appeared to be an endless supply of Changelings continued to crop up seemingly from nowhere, at a regular and alarming rate. Valentine was getting less and less time to recuperate between outbreaks and the gunman's enhanced body was beginning to have trouble dealing with the constant drain of healing damage caused by teeth coated in virus infected saliva. And he wasn't the only one feeling the strain. Crimson eyes narrowed a little as Whisper limped into the room, followed closely by Reno. The White had become the ex-Turk's partner of choice when dealing with the infectious Hellhounds. The young male was an excellent close quarters fighter, and he had no reason to fear the nasty mutating virus. BUT… he was young and inexperienced, this led to occasional mistakes. The last one of these had ended with Vincent buried under a pile of snapping, clawing, living death. Whisper had recovered well and waded in to pull his partner out but in doing so, had received wounds that had been life threatening even for his iron constitution.

Vincent's elegant brows twitched down into a slight frown. Head of Research visiting be damned…The young male was SUPPOSED to be in bed…. resting.

Chaos HMPHED softly.

"I WOULD CALL IT CANOODLING LIKE A JUNKYARD RABBIT WITH RENO….BUT IF YOU INSIST THAT IT IS RESTING…WELL….THE WARRIOR CHILD IS FLOATING AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE AND THE DOC DID RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET SOME…."

"Chaos…don't even go there!"

Vincent sighed and sank further down into the cushions ...as if summoned by the demon... Yuffie appeared in the doorway. The young ninja had been polite but oddly…aloof… since the day Shinra had come to visit. Valentine had not yet screwed up his courage enough to sit down and talk to the Princess about his unthinking comments that day on the airship. Rather… the man had pretty much convinced himself that he should not breach the widening gap in their relationship. It would be better for Yuffie if she set her sights on a man with less…shall we say…baggage. The increasing frequency of attacks served as an excellent subconscious excuse to keep their contact to a bare minimum.

Still, Vincent could not hide the twinge of pain that flashed through his breast from his dominant demon, as the young woman's honey tinted gaze settled on him for a moment, then she casually nodded a greeting and turned her attention elsewhere. Such was the gunslinger's internal distress that the man did not notice that Yuffie's usually bright eyes were dark and flat. Chaos noticed though…and at that moment the Dark One wished there was a way he could manifest separately from his HOST, so he could grab the immortal fool and shake the living SHIT out of him!

* * *

Rude hesitated as he followed Marion into the great room. He had known that Reno would come down for this little "introduction". The Second in command had already met Dr. Angelique Destinie and had secretly confided to his partner that something about the seemingly sweet elderly woman made his skin crawl. The Turk was slouched comfortably in one of the high backed chairs by the fireplace.

Whisper, on the other hand, was SUPPOSED to be in bed. Ruby eyes glinted his superior's way and the Albino's ears flattened a little as he received stern looks from both Rude AND the shadow cloaked in crimson (Vincent steadfastly maintained that he had EARNED the right to be unfashionable if he wanted to!) that was currently residing on the couch. The young male planted his rump on top of Reno's feet, and folded his own long toes one over the other. The Turk's pale fingers twined into the creamy mane as Whisper's strong tail coiled around one of the man's blue clad legs. Insolent, almost blue eyes steadily met the flash of the dark man's shades. Rude lifted one shoulder in a shrug and took up a place opposite the pair by the fire. Reno's cool, pale gaze turned to appraise Valentine, and one fiery brow arched up. Vincent, who was looking tired and drawn, was the first to glance away, one corner of his mouth quirking up in defeat. After all… HE was also supposed to be in his room… resting.

It seemed that everyone in the house was gathering in anticipation of meeting the coming guest. Rude's hidden gaze swept the rest of the room. They noted Yuffie curled up in one of the easy chairs. The only one missing was Ice…and the pregnant female would probably put off taking the long trip down the stairs from her room until the very last minute.

Abraham came in with a large armful of wood…the Valet had been hustling, getting fuel for the fire stockpiled just in case they lost power during the bad weather that was closing in. Anyone who had lived in these mountains for long knew to be prepared! The man servant stacked his arm load, looked around and went over to the side bar to stand quietly in case he was needed to make a nightcap. The Turk could not BELIEVE that the elderly man had been outside without a coat! Of course… Neibelhiem was known to breed them tough. Full lips parted a little, as Rude actually thought about getting that drink. Then Vincent jerked straight up with a muffled groan. Rude couldn't help but wince as the man dug his buzzing cell phone out from under his cloak. The narrowing of crimson eyes, and tightening of pale lips told the assassin that this was not the Head of Research announcing her arrival. Reno also caught the subtle nuances of the gunman's expression.

"SHIT…YO…that had better not be another outbreak in Midgar!"

The redhead knew, as did everyone else in the room, that in very little time, the oncoming storm would prevent ALL travel to and from Neibelhiem.

Valentine shook his head as he closed his phone. His ruby gaze lingered on Whisper for a second, taken in the male's still rough physical condition then he turned to Rude. Crimson shifted to gold as the ex-Turk answered the unspoken question.

"Not Midgar….Neibelhiem! Rude you need to be wearing something warm enough to fly in."

The man snatched his shades off of his face…oh no… this WASN'T going where he thought it was.

"Um…the copter is heated?"

Red and black mist swirled around Vincent's still figure and the voice that answered was an eerie blend of the man and Chaos.

"It will be faster if we fly as the crow flies….namely using our own wings."

The shades slid back on.

"Why was I afraid you were going to say that!"

Abraham appeared at the big man's side, a thick coat in hand. It might have been Rude's imagination but the Valet seemed to give his shoulder a little compassionate squeeze as he helped the Turk dress for the high altitude cold.

Reno sat straight up pure envy chasing the concern from his face.

"YO….what about me?"

Rude gave the redhead a tight smile…flying with Chaos HAD to be numero uno when it came to Reno's wet dreams. The demon pinned the other Turk with his molten gaze and the wicked smile that parted the dark lips made it very clear that the demon KNEW.

"SOME OTHER TIME, TURK….THIS BEARS THE STINK OF TREACHERY."

The demon directed a hard look upwards towards Ice's room, then let his worried gaze linger on the seated pair.

"KEEP EVERYONE HERE SAFE RENO AND I WILL GLADLY TAKE YOU STORM DANCING AT A LATER DATE."

* * *

Reno followed the pair out of the door and watched as the Demon positioned his partner in front of him, powerful grey arms locking around the big man's thick chest. Huge bloodied wings snapped open and the powerful being crouched slightly drawing the man so tightly against him that Rude could feel the slow rumbling beat of the dark Lord's heart. The assassin's own heart flew up into his throat as wing leather boomed and his softly murmured…ah shit… ah shit… ah shit…was lost in the thunder of that first all important down stroke. Chaos did not falter as he launched them skyward, his thundering wings driving them up into the underbelly of the gathering storm.

Reno studied the swirling clouds for a moment, the pilot in him automatically calculating how long it would be before flight became impossible. The Turk assumed that Dr. Destinie must be planning on weathering out the storm at the mansion or in town. Hopefully… Vincent and Rude would get this outbreak under control quickly. The wind was already gusting and very soon it would be unsafe to fly, even if you DID have your own wings!

Pale eyes followed a fat snowflake as it danced on the wind and then tracked across the lawn, narrowing to peer into the shadows gathering under the eaves of the forest. Long fingered hands flowed through an automatic check on the battle readiness of the various weapons hidden on the redhead's lean body. Chaos had only echoed the Turk's own assessment of the situation. Something about this smelled foul. It would not be the first time company enemies had tried to set Shinra back by kidnapping or killing a top scientist. A quick glance at the dark skies and Reno stepped back and closed the door. When Angelique arrived he would insist that she stay at the mansion. With Abraham, (yeah…the assassin's well honed instincts told him that the old man could hold his own in a fight) Whisper, and himself as bodyguards, the elderly woman would be safe.

Whisper had stayed seated with his back against Reno's chair while the Turk had seen his partner and Chaos off. The white's ruby eyes were half glazed as he soaked up the heat from the fire. Reno knew just how sore his lover was, and could not blame the Were for not wanting to get up if he did not have to. Rather than have the healing male move out of the way, the man made use of his longer than average legs and stepped over the flame heated, somnolent puddle of Were, to settle back into his seat.

The warmth from the fireplace and from the hot body pressed against his legs soon had the Turk half drowsing. Vigilance was the Turk way of life though and the man remained aware of things going on in the room….Abraham left and then returned with a tray of snacks.(Elizabeth had headed home before the storm hit.) There was a soft murmur of conversation between Marion and Yuffie and a slight movement in the hallway turned out to be Ice joining them, bearing a full bowl of ice cream. Red brows arched sleepily as the female's silvery gaze rested on him for a moment. Her silken lips lifted in a slight warning snarl and the ice cream was cradled possessively against the curve of the Were's growing belly. Ice slunk to a chair as far from him as possible as the man slowly licked his lips with a pink tongue. Teasing the pregnant female had turned out to be more fun then the redhead could have possibly imagined…although…Whisper watched him as if he was crazy. The Albino KNEW you did NOT purposely poke a sleeping dragon with a sharp stick…and that is pretty much what Reno was doing!

The thumping of a copter's rotors roused the Turk, and he straightened a little. The howl of the machine's engines deepened as it landed. It was about time. Then the man's head cocked and a frown furrowed a line in his forehead. Something was off. Reno had a keen ear when it came to the flying machines and he distinctly heard TWO machines, not the single one they were expecting. Blinking to clear the blur of sleepiness out of his vision, Reno surged up as Abraham's hand closed over the door handle.

The Turk's, "YO….don't open….!" was drowned out by the deafening crash of the door flying open, propelled by a powerful outside kick.

* * *

Rude's grip convulsively tightened on the powerful arms locked around his chest as Chaos hit an air pocket and abruptly lost altitude. The big man had never had a problem with airsickness. But, as they dropped, he was pretty sure his stomach had been left behind somewhere up above them. There was a soft rumbling grunt from his living "aircraft" and the man marveled at the feel of mighty muscles rolling against his back as the demon side slipped to gain some speed, stretched those fragile seeming wings wide and brought their descent back under control. A couple of hard strokes and the pair was rising again in the turbulent air.

The Turk had witnessed Chaos flying many times, and it had always seemed a graceful, flowing dance with the wind. He was fast learning that this had been pure illusion! The demon was constantly adjusting as the wind currents and air pockets tried to toss them around. It was very evident that flying was hard work. The demon's face was very close to Rude's neck. The sound of his deep, long, breaths, (oddly, timed between wing beats) as Chaos worked to keep them aloft was loud in the man's ear. Between the hot breath ghosting across the back of his neck and the tremendous heat that the dark one generated as he flew, Rude found that he was surprisingly warm. Everywhere that was, except his face. That was rapidly being coated with melting snow that almost instantly turned to ice in the freezing wind of their passage.

As he ducked his head to protect himself, the image passed through his mind of Reno's copter being sprayed down with a deicer before a winter flight. Hum….wonder how the demon dealt with ice build up on the leading edge of those driving wings? A very unmanly squeak forced its' way passed the Turk's tight lips as without warning, Chaos rolled. While they were upside down and dropping, the demon gave his whole body an odd… wave-like… shake. Another stomach twisting spin and they were upright again. Now Rude was known to be a quiet…yes…even taciturn individual but THIS was just too much!

"Holy FUCKING Gia….son of a bitch! MAN…give a soul a warning before you do shit like that!"

The wind snatched the very words from between his lips before he could spit them out but the vibration of the demon's deep chuckle made it clear he had been heard.

"SORRY TURK….HAD TO GET RID OF SOME ICE BUILD UP. I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF I HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN, I WOULD NOT WANT TO GET PISSED ON WHILST WE ARE IN THAT…. POSITION!"

Going back to his quiet ways…more to preserve his dignity then anything else, Rude softly muttered.

"Valentine was sooo right!"

"RIGHT? RIGHT ABOUT WHAT?"

"You ARE an asshole!"

"TRUE…." There was a slight pause, then…" YOU DO REALIZE THAT MOST HUMANS WHO HAVE THE BALLS TO CALL ME THAT, ARE NOT BEING CARRIED BY ME…OH…. THREE OF FOUR HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE VERY….VERY….HARD GROUND."

Rude stepped down hard on the sudden and urgent desire to squirm.

"Um…sorry?"

"HMPH…BE QUIET TURK…I NEED TO SAVE MY BREATH FOR FLYING."

* * *

Yuffie watched silently from her window seat as Chaos launched himself into the darkening sky. The young woman tightened the walls around her heart as Rude and the demon disappeared into the swirling snow. She refused to allow herself to worry about Vincent. The ninja had kept her distance but was VERY aware of the gunman's deteriorating physical condition. She had casually worked the information out of Marion when Valentine had made an unprecedented trip down to the labs AFTER his last mission. The young woman had known the demon ridden man was not there JUST to visit the recuperating Albino when her enhanced sense of smell had caught the very distinct aroma of fresh blood as he passed her in the hallway. The Doc made it clear with just a minimal amount of prying from the ninja that she was concerned about more than the gunman's physical condition. The petite Vet had worried the hell out of Yuffie when she almost too casually asked if the gunslinger had ever been suicidal.

Vincent may have been under the impression that Yuffie had only given him a passing glance and nod, but the man had a tendency, as did others, to forget that the Princess of Wutai was a highly trained ninja. In that one quick seemingly casual look…the shin obi had noted the shadows under that porcelain skin and the fine lines of weariness and pain that showed around crimson eyes and tight, pale lips. Yuffie had cringed when the ex-Turk's damned phone had buzzed. Vincent did not notice as the girl bit her lips and blinked back tears when his hard gaze had not even considered her as a battle partner. There had been a time in the not so distance past that the ex-Turk would not have hesitated to include her in his choice of partners. After all…she was also immune to the Changelings infectious bite. (AND a hell of a lot lighter than Rude for Chaos to carry!) It was just another symptom of the man not wanting to have anything to do with her.

Yuffie was glad for Marion's company as it served to distract her from her worried thoughts. When Ice joined them…bringing her ice cream, the conversation soon deteriorated into giggles punctuated by dirty looks sent Reno's way. Yuffie registered the sound of the second helicopter but did not put two and two together until Reno surged up out of his chair. All three females froze as the door was kicked open. Its' solid weight caught Abraham and slammed him with bone cracking force against the wall.

"SHIT….!"

The ninja was up and moving as a large man flowed into the room. This isn't what had caused the outburst though. A huge black mass separated itself from the shadows of storm and night. Ivory flashed in the firelight as the monstrous Titan entered, mouth gaped in a threat display. He was followed by a brother who was just as black but some what smaller. Amazingly, Abraham managed to lever himself off of the floor only to have a fluff of white sprout over his heart with a soft phftt. Narrowed, glazing eyes gleamed a molten silver and the man's lips pulled back in a savage snarl. There was a sharp curse and a second… phftt… as another blossom of white grew out of the advancing man's neck. The Valet staggered and dropped, as if boneless, to the floor. While all attention in the room had been riveted on the advancing beasts, the elderly woman bringing up the rear had brought a dart gun into play.

Yuffie reversed directions, grabbed Marion and dove for the tenuous safety behind a chair as that nasty looking weapon swung towards them. The stinging bite just under her ribs told her she had not moved fast enough. The girl managed to hold onto consciousness just long enough to see Ice drop her ice cream and try to twist out of the path of a third dart. The Were's reflexes were slowed by her awkward, thickened body and the sharp needle buried itself in her thigh. The pregnant female slumped to the floor as a curtain of blackest night sucked the light out of the Yuffie's world.

* * *

Whisper had been soaking up the warmth of the fire like a heat sponge and drowsing when Reno leaped up with a shout. Ruby eyes flashed open and the white forgot about his healing injuries as adrenaline surged through him at the sight of Titan bearing down on the Turk. The male achieved a full shift to beast in mid flight as he launched himself to intercept his larger brother. A piece of the night rose up to meet him. There was a shuddering thunk as ebony and ivory slammed together, chest to chest, Shadow's larger bulk absorbing the impact with little difficulty.

Grappling with the much larger male, the albino had a moment of panic when he saw a seriously outmatched Reno get overwhelmed by the massive might of Titan. Then he remembered Abraham's words and Rude's hard lessons. Whisper's mind dove to his center and a deep calm washed though the Were…he could do this for his mate. The white braced himself and with a much practiced, twisting move, the omega male sent his larger sibling flying through the air to crash into the wall. Whisper did not hesitate, instead of following up his attack, he broke off and shot across the room, intent on reaching the human male who seemed to be the Alpha here. He made it half way there before Shadow's great weight landed on his back and sent them rolling. For a moment the pair fought as beasts, kicking, slashing and biting, entangled in a writhing, howling ball of talons, teeth, thrashing limbs, and tails. Then… Whisper managed to gain the upper hand. Powerful arms locked around Shadow's massive, wedge shaped head and twisted, the Were fully determined to break that heavy, collared neck. So intent was Whisper on finishing the kill, he did not know he was in mortal peril until a silver laced bullet punched through his back. The impact spun him, and the next four slammed into his chest and soft underbelly. As pain and shock stripped his strength away, the white staggered back, only to be caught from behind by strong black arms. Shadow gave a soft grunt as he caught his brother's weight, then snarled as the last shot went through the white and buried itself in his flank. Whisper felt a moment of confusion as his brother almost gently lowered him to the floor, then he was overwhelmed with sadness as he heard Reno's stricken scream of pain and rage. Fading crimson sought out the gold…Whisper silently prayed that he still held a small place in this, his favorite brother's heart. A soft cough to clear frothy blood from his throat, and the white pleaded with the darkness.

"Shadow…no labs, no whitecoats…do for mine what you could not do for yours….please!"

This last was hissed out as the white's breath left him.

* * *

Marion could only hold Yuffie's limp body and sob as Shadow straightened up from his brother's still form. Reno had been effectively immobilized, pinned and held by the powerful Titan. At least this was the case until the Turk saw his lover fall. His throat tearing scream was a thing born of nightmares.

"YO….Gods…NO…you fuckers…"

Eyes that had been glowing mako blue practically ignited as Reno went off like one of Rude's homemade bombs. The screaming man twisted like an eel in Titan's grip and the small ball of green that was incased in the gold of his earring flared to life. A shuddering ripple passed over the black's body and his mane ruffed out in spikes. That wicked mouth gaped in a soundless scream as the glow of a cast Cure rolled over him. As those massive arms loosened, the Turk managed to wrest himself free. A fast diving roll and Reno came up with his dropped E.M.R…it was buzzing like an angry hive as the man thrust it up into Titan's undefended belly. The great male folded up in a spasm and the assassin bore him to the ground. There was a flash of flame reflecting off of silver and the knife that the man had seemingly produced out of thin air descended in a lethal arc.

Shadow was moving even as the sound of gunfire again thundered in the room. The bullet hit high, causing that wicked silver blade to spin out of Reno's grasp. The male hit him a second later. Shadow's momentum knocked the battling redhead off of Titan and the man ended up on his bleeding back pinned by the Were's four hundred plus pounds.

Marion tried to scramble to her feet. Whisper was still breathing in soft shallow gasps and Reno was going to need some medical aid. The Vet feared that Abraham was probably dead…there was no way the man's aged body could handle two doses of a tranquilizer meant to take down an adult were.

The Doc came to a sliding stop as Dr. Angelique Destinie stepped in front of her, that wicked little dart gun never leaving the spot it was aimed at on her chest. Marion stared in shock into those smiling…oh so cold…eyes.

Shadow's head dipped as the man under him arched, kicked and cursed in his rage. Broad nostrils twitched as the beast's nose caught the scent of Whisper on the man and…in… him. Gold eyes slid sideways to the motionless, bleeding white body. So…his favorite brother had finally found a mate worth fighting for. What a shame he would also die for him. The black brother wished for a moment that HE had been given that option. Inner eyelids flicked closed at the hate and pain he saw in the mako blue glare that met his own gaze without fear and on a whim…. To HELL with his orders…Shadow decided to finish the job his brother had started. Reno screamed again as four inch fangs closed over flesh and drove through in a crushing bite. The lethal, saliva coated, ivory blades came together with a sickening SNICKT, buried to their thick base, deep in the struggling Turk's shoulder.

Shadow's oddly calm gaze never left Reno's face as he bit down twice…making damned sure to work as much of his saliva into the penetrating wounds as he could before Duprey recovered from his surprise enough to trigger the slave collar. The scientist had wanted a Turk of his very own to break. Reno was useless to him as a Hellhound…and Shadow was damned determined to hide certain… facts… that the whitecoats did NOT need to know. As the first electrical surge and wave of pain hit him, the Were allowed the man to kick free of his convulsing body. He would leave it up to the fiery redhead to decide whether he wanted to live or…die… while he was still fully human.

* * *

"Mother fucker….!"

Duprey was livid as he watched a project dear to his heart ruined before it even began. He thumbed the current on Shadow's collar to high in retaliation for the Were's willful disobedience. The damned beast had been given clear orders that, if any Turk was left behind at the mansion, he to be captured alive and UNBITTEN! The scientist would have preferred it be the big, taciturn black man. Rude had a reputation for being very strong in mind and body. BUT…. having the Second in command of the Turks strapped and screaming to his exam table would have been acceptable also. Bernard wanted nothing more than to surpass Hojo in his ability to break a person's body, mind, and spirit….he truly wanted to emulate the twisted professor by doing this with his very own Turk "specimen". Oh well…time to cut their losses and get the hell outta there. They had acquired the specimens most important to their research.

He watched with clinical detachment as the Turk managed to regain his feet. That in itself showed what a great lab rat the man would have been. Reno must be operating on sheer mako enhanced adrenaline and strength of will alone. Blood had turned the Turk's shirt almost black, as the bullet wound and the deep slashing bites in his shoulder continued to pour life bearing crimson out. Even mako had a problem dealing with that kind of blood loss AND the virus laden saliva. Reno would be dead or a hellhound in very little time and as such he was of no use to Duprey.

The assassin spun as Titan came up off of the floor and lunged at him. Again there was the gleam of silver as the man produced another knife. (Damn…where WAS he pulling all of those from?) The scientist lost his detachment as that blade slashed towards his Second's throat. Titan ducked his head and received the deep gash across his snapping, foaming muzzle. Reno gracefully shifted and the knife dropped down in a sweeping arc, aimed at the beast's vulnerable groin. Duprey did not hesitate, he fired a bullet into the injured man's unprotected lower back. His target staggered forward, rebounded against Titan's massive chest and then dropped into an untidy bloody heap on the polished wood floor.

The scientist swept the now quiet room with a calculating gaze.

"Titan….Shadow…get Ice and the changeling."

He gave Angelique a predatory smile,

"Do you think you can handle specimen M …my dear?

Angelique just smiled and motioned the Vet towards the door.

After the thumping of the copter rotors and the howl of the machines straining engines had faded into the stormy night, silence descended inside the mansion. All that could be heard was the crackle of the dying fire, the desolate howl of the wind dancing around the eves, and the soft gurgling gasps of the injured and the dying.

* * *

Still not 100 percent...hope to get more posted soon


	33. Chapter 33

Am back more or less...and just about operating on all cylinders again. This is a fanfiction. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters...I am just playing in their world for a while. I own the rights to the original parts of this story line and to my original characters. Please do not use without my permission.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 33

Reno swam back up to awareness and surfaced into a world of pain. For a moment the Turk just lay perfectly still, trying desperately to convince his screaming body to draw its' next breath. Between the nasty, burning bites that punched clear through his shoulder, the deep ache of a bullet that had buried itself high in his ribcage, and a myriad of cracked ribs and torn muscles caused by Titan's less than careful restraint, Well…the man was pretty sure he hadn't felt this bad since Cloud had stuck him with that monstrous sword!

More worrisome than all of this was the sharp agony in his lower back. He had felt the impact of that last shot and had known, as his legs suddenly gave out, that it had hit in a very bad spot. Mako was an incredible thing, but it did have its' limits. The redhead tried to move his lower limbs only to have his fears confirmed. With a soft moan, Reno let his head fall back with a thump. Fuck….talk about shithouse luck. The bad news was…. his back was probably shattered. The good news… he would not have to worry about learning to use a wheelchair because with the way his virus infected bite wounds were flaming, in very little time he would "Change" into a slavering, mindless monster.

MOTHER GIA….he did NOT want Rude to have to be the one to put him down, nor did he want that unpleasant task to fall to Whisper….OH GODS….Whisper…! With a Herculean effort, the downed man forced his unwilling body to roll off of its' bleeding back as his pale eyes searched for the White's still form. Another soft moan forced its' way out of the assassin's tight throat when he finally located his lover. He had counted at least six shots, and in these close quarters, even with the silver worked into the bullets, the kidnapper could not have missed. Whisper was huddled into himself, his blood stained body resting curled on its' side. All Reno could see was the male's broad, crimson coated, motionless back. Gritting his teeth against the searing pain of trying to move, the redhead pulled himself across the blood slicked hardwood floor until he was beside the Were. Bracing himself on the bitten arm, Reno started to ease the White over onto his back only to stop as the injured male responded to the slight movement with a low, strangled, gurgling whimper.

"Shhhh….YO… Whisper…Shhhh…"

A slender hand gently stroked the tangled, bloodied mane as Reno tried to assess how badly his lover was wounded. A quick once over had the man's heart breaking. All six of the bullets had hit. Three had punched clean through, leaving large bleeding exit wounds in back, ribcage and shoulder. These were surprisingly…. slowly… trying to close. The other three lethal projectiles were buried somewhere deep in the albino's failing body.

The Turk carefully laid his forehead against the warm shoulder, loss of blood and shock had his vision spotting black and fading in and out. He just rested there for a moment, listening to each of his own slow careful breaths mixing with Whisper's halting, ragged ones. The man had been around the dead and dying enough to know that the Were needed extensive medical help… NOW. If he did not get it soon, death's door, which he was knocking at, would open and claim him. The sagging head lifted and cocked as the Turk listened to the wind howling through the eaves to fling snow against the windows. There was no way any help was coming. Even Chaos would hesitate to challenge this storm.

Reno really did not give a thought to his own condition, it would be better if he threw death's door wide open and joyfully leaped in. The alternative was too terrible to think about. Almost numb fingers searched through his pockets until he managed to find his cell. The call he placed was shunted automatically to voicemail, Rude must be in one of the many dead spots in this area. Reno had to clear his throat twice before he managed to croak out an abbreviated message describing the attack. When he did finish, his shaking hand dropped the phone. He did not retrieve it. The assassin doubted he would be answering any returned calls.

Another stolen moment with lips pressed against his lover's wonderful silken skin and then the fiery head lifted again, pale eyes searching. There… he had lost his firearm in the first couple seconds of the scuffle with Titan. He spotted it resting almost underneath the chair that Yuffie had been sitting in. One of the hardest things Reno had ever done in his life was to leave the warm bulk of Whisper (he could be of no help there, the young male needed someone with skills that far surpassed the field medicine he was trained in) and drag himself over to his weapon. The Turk would NOT permit his friends to have to be the ones to euthanize the monster he was now fated to become.

His gun arm was too severely injured to hold the piece steady and he needed it to be dead still for this. Resting his back against the chair, Reno wiggled himself around until his upper body was braced as securely as possible. The assassin flinched a little at the coldness of the steel barrel as he nestled it under his chin. The Turk's eyes had lost the mako blue gleam of battle and had faded to their usual pale green, this darkened a little as he trained his gaze on Whisper's still form. He wanted the last thing he saw before he entered the life stream to be the one who had brought him some happiness into his admittedly fucked up life. These were his last thoughts as his finger tightened on the trigger.

* * *

Chaos and Rude dropped out of the storm and the demon landed heavily on a small knoll that overlooked a deceptively peaceful farm scene. At least it LOOKED peaceful, that was until the snow cleared a little and Rude realized that the animals that were penned were quite dead and MOST of the carcasses were being snacked upon by a large bunch of Changelings.

"HUMMM….." Chaos' gold gaze was scanning the area as he shook himself free of a accumulated layer of ice and snow.

"I SEE NO HUMAN VICTIMS, I WONDER WHERE THE FA…."

Moving almost to fast to be seen the dark one's talon-ed hand flashed out, snagged Rude's coat and yanked him back just as a bullet whined through the spot he had just unwillingly vacated. The Turk saw the blossoming flame of a muzzle flash in one of the farmhouse's upper windows as Chaos stepped in front of him. The demon grunted as a second bullet impacted into the thick muscle just above the flare of his hip. A guttural, nasty sounding curse rumbled out of the fanged mouth as the wound automatically closed, pushing the lead out.

Rude stuck his head out to look past the demon's broad form and shouted,

"HEY man….We are on your side. We're the GOOD guys here!"

At the demon's soft snort and as one elegant raven brow arched up, Rude sheepishly shrugged and slanted his shades sideways.

"What!….I have ALWAYS wanted to say that!"

With a sardonic smile, the dark form of Chaos blurred and became shrouded in red mist. The assassin drew his handgun as a hoard of Changelings, having heard the shots, came pouring out of the open doorway of the barn. Vincent unlimbered Cerberus and handed the big gun over to the Turk.

"Hnn….It looks like you are going to get the chance play the hero for a change."

The last of this was a rumbled growl as the gunman "Changed" and the Galian Beast took his place.

The usual strategy for these battles was for Whisper to physically engage the creatures while the more vulnerable gunman picked them off with well placed, silver laced bullets. Chaos always stayed internal, as with the Were's virus laden bites, his healing abilities did NOT operate on automatic as they should. The demon had to physically manipulate his host's recuperation from the inside. With Rude being the most at risk here, it was the Galian beast who would take the brunt of the physical attack while the Turk handled the longer range kills. This battle plan usually worked well. BUT…. this time, there were just to many of the monsters. As Galian engaged in a lethal flowing dance of death and destruction, and a duet of Cerberus' deep voice combined with Rude's handgun's lighter, sharper one, sang out time and time again, the pair soon realized that it was just a matter of time before their defenses were completely overwhelmed.

* * *

Abraham clawed his way to awareness and immediately wished he had not as his body promptly emptied his stomach. His healing factor had been clearing and dumping the massive drug overdose as quickly as possible and his stomach made a perfect reservoir. As soon as he was awake enough that he could not drown in his own vomit, his body took the opportunity to empty it. The soft scrape of metal dragging across wood jerked the man's attention away from his own misery, and sharp eyes scanned the room noting the missing persons and the blood trail that led to where that small sound had come from. At the soft click of a round being chambered the old wolf did not hesitate. The reflexes of a wild thing propelled him to slam hard into the chair that Reno was propped against. As he hit the seat, the Patriarch spring boarded over the back and twisted himself into a somersaulting barrel roll. One hand caught a bloody torn shoulder and shoved hard to the side, the other fisted and struck, knocking the firing gun away from it's intended target. The shot went wild and Abraham growled softly as the bullet sliced a path along one of his high sharp cheekbones, just missing his eye in passing. The Valet ended up crouched over the now prone Turk, his surprisingly powerful grip keeping Reno's gun filled hand pinned to the floor. The old one's respect for the young, brash redhead went up a notch as he watched the badly injured and suffering man's grim fight to hang on to consciousness. The hard grey eyes softened a little in sympathy when the soft moans turned into slurred words.

"YO….ya gotta let me…Ummm…. Don wanna hurt anyone… goin to turn inta a monster….PLEASE!" This last was a defeated sob.

Abraham examined the deep bite wounds slashed into the torn shoulder and his narrow, thin skinned nostrils flared as he sampled the various scents swirling through the smell of Reno's blood.

A gentle long fingered hand caught and turned the Turk's desperate face so that the glazing green could be held by the steel.

"BOY…hush…shhhh…listen to me! Yes… you are going to make the "Change!" Nothing can stop that now. BUT…it will not be what you think"

The soft voice deepened with authority and the hand gave the weakly struggling man a slight shake.

"LISTEN TO ME…! I promise you…this will be okay!"

Reno seemed to give up and his body sagged limply as the pale eyes cleared for a moment. The Turk sounded weary unto death as he glared at his savior.

"Yo…don't do that…That's a promise that you can't keep! You have no clue…."

The words died on his lips as Abraham triggered a partial "Change" and for a second, intelligent grey eyes gleamed at the Turk from out of a savage, wolfish visage.

"Rest assured… Boyo…That is a promise I am well qualified to make. NOW…will you lay here like a good pup and let me see what I can do to help my son?"

Abraham stared into that astonished green gaze and smiled. NO…this boy was a tricky, slippery eel and the minute he turned his back the stubborn fool would try to finish what he had started. That strong hand released its' light grip on Reno's jaw, then settled to rest on the juncture of the Turk's less injured shoulder and his neck. Reno was well trained in pressure points and he tried to struggle up…

"YO…don't..!"

The Alpha shifted to human and those steely fingers dug deep. Reno's overtaxed body sagged and his eyes rolled back to white.

"Nighty night…son."

A quick but thorough exam convinced Abraham that both Whisper and Reno were in deep trouble physically. Cell phone service in this weather was iffy at best but the Family had long established a communications system that had worked for millennia. The Patriarch strode out into the storm. In a short moment the long, narrow, graying muzzle of a great wolf lifted to the storm ravaged sky and the deep bell-like tones of wolfsong echoed out to be carried on the wind. The solemn notes were picked up by a chorus of forest brethren. Their voices lifted and the wild music rang through the snow, leaping ahead like a living thing until it reached the ears it was intended for.

* * *

"Shit….GALIAN…duck!"

The Turk did not have the time to wait and see if the battling beast had heard him. He sent a bullet winging so close to the demon's shaggy head that the golden mane lifted in the wake of the silver laced lead's passage. The demon did not even pause as the shot picked a Changeling out of the air before it could land on his back. Galian had his hands full with the one that was currently trying to eat his face.

Rude twisted as a THING got past the beast and closed in to take a swipe at him. Cerberus took its' head off as the smaller gun in the assassin's other hand brought another to a tumbling halt right at his feet. Mother Gia…. where were these things coming from? A flare of flame brought the big man's attention back to Galian as the beast powered up and rammed a fireball right down one attacker's throat. A rolling shrug dislodged a clinging monster from the demon's slashed up back and it joined its' brother in a jittering flame covered dance. Rude watched with more than a little concern as Vincent's second most powerful demon staggered, shook it's massive head and fell back a step or two as the next wave of Changelings ghosted forwards in the driving snow.

It was getting harder to get an accurate shot as the storm settled and the weather worsened. Visibility had closed in to where if the Galian got dragged out more than a few yards Rude could barely see him. Of course… the occasional flame ball did light things up but those were getting further and further apart as the demon tired. More and more of the vicious creatures were getting past the beast and the Turk was becoming hard pressed to keep the infectious creatures at a distance. Sooner or later one or more was going to get through.

As if even thinking this had jinxed him, three monstrous shadows charged, just barely seen through the swirling snow. Rude's first shots stopped two of them but the hollow click signaling an empty chamber was a sound that froze the assassin's heart. He did not have the time to bring Cerberus to bear so the big man braced himself for the impact and prayed he could keep the snapping jaws out of his flesh.

Something silent and heavy hit the Turk from behind, knocking him to the ground. Rude managed to roll, landing on his back and he could only stare in shock at the massive, sand colored mix of wolf and man that stood over him. It snagged the Changeling out of the air, then it wrapped long arms around the writhing form. Heavy musculature rolled under the shaggy hide and the sound of bones being crushed could be heard over the wind.

HOLY FUCKING GIA….Rude had just managed to get Cerberus up and aimed at this new threat when a smaller russet colored wolf appeared out of the storm and trapped his gun arm in jaws that closed with viselike strength. The assassin froze, that was his dominant arm, he did NOT need it put out of commission. The creature let go, its' broad nose traveling up to wuff into his face, then slid up to flip his shades off.

"HEY…."

The man stopped his outraged outburst when the she wolf lifted those thin lips in what looked suspiciously like a grin, and her form blurred. Rude just knew his mouth was hanging open as he found himself pinned by a very naked, green eyed, housekeeper and cook! The woman met his astonished gaze steadily for a second and then reverted back to her much warmer wolf form. The great beast straddling them swatted a Changeling out of the air with a huge clawed hand. The creature smacked into the ground just inches from the downed man and without thinking Rude swung Cerberus up and put a bullet in it's brain as it struggled to rise.

Deep thunder rumbled through the snow.

"Let him up, Liz."

Sky blue eyes glanced down and that thick fingered hand casually extended down to offer the Turk help up. Rude swung Cerberus up as another Changeling appeared out of the storm, aiming for the sandy beast's broad back. He needn't have bothered, it was swept out of the air by the leaping form of another great wolf, this one a rich mahogany brown. Rude allowed himself to be drawn to his feet as he watched the wolf tear out the Changeling's throat. It reminded him very much of the way the Galian beast fought. SHIT….Rude jerked away from Sandy and desperately looked for Vincent's battling demon. The roiling snow was full of the ghostly forms of the huge mountain wolves. It seemed that the Calvary had arrived.

The brown beast drew up next to Rude and a light baritone snarl rumbled out from the long muzzle.

"Justin…get the other one here…NOW!"

There was no question as to who the dominant of the pair was. The great blonde beast did not hesitate, he dropped to all fours and charged into the maelstrom of battling wolves, scattering changelings in all directions as he cleared a path to the beleaguered Galian beast. Rude watched, curious as to how his partner was going to react to the newcomer. Galian jerked up straight as the wolf pulled a couple of clinging monsters off of him. Vincent's demon dropped his head, and assumed a threat/ dominance, gaped mouthed posture. Justin backed off a pace or two and rolled his head and neck in an odd, throat baring gesture. Whatever he said to the demon had the beast coming up the small hill at a run. His form had already shifted to that of the winged Chaos as he topped the rise. Rude flinched as hot breath blew across his knuckles. His gaze dropped from the rapidly approaching demon to meet the deep, loam dark eyes of the brown wolf. The man just managed to keep his expression calm as the beast spoke in a guttural voice..

"There was an attack on the mansion, there are serious injuries and immediate help is needed."

"WHAT!" This was accompanied by a string of sibilant curses in a tongue long dead as Chaos joined them. "I TOLD THAT REDHEADED FOOL TO BE ON HIS GUARD!"

Rude turned, and without his trademark shades everyone could see the suppressed rage that made his brown eyes gleam.

"HEY…if I remember correctly…man, even YOU are not undefeatable!"

The worry for his partner must have been very clear in the dark man's face because the demon's awesome head tilted slightly as the grey visage softened. Chaos looked away first, on the pretense of scanning the storm driven snow with calculating golden eyes.

"HMPH…,"there was again that glimmer of gold as Rude found himself raked over by that same calculating look. "TURK…I DO NOT THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE A FLIGHT THROUGH THIS WEATHER. I WILL HAVE TO ATTEMPT IT ALONE."

The russet wolf nudged Rude with a moist nose.

"We will make sure that this one gets to shelter."

Chaos studied her for a moment and his aquiline face creased in a thoughtful frown.

"ELIZABETH…?"

The she-wolf nodded and her pink tongue ran out in a wolfy grin. The demon…much to Valentine's credit… did no more than blink in his astonishment. The hot gaze sought Rude out again.

"I DO NOT LIKE LEAVING YOU HERE."

Rude did not hesitate.

"If you don't get going, I am going to kick your winged, demonic ass into the sky… I'll be fine."

Chaos gave a sharp nod and crouched, bloodied wings flaring. Rude hissed a soft breath as this revealed the amount of damage the demon had taken in his battle with the Changelings.

"Mother Gia Chaos!…can you fly like that?"

Vincent's dominant demon snorted,

"DID YOU NOT JUST THREATEN TO KICK MY ASS IF I DIDN'T GET AIRBORNE?"

The Turk swallowed his smile and his concern while he gave a slight nod. The demon's dark lips lifted in a slight smile of his own and he shook the accumulating, bloodied snow off of his spread wings. Again he crouched, but

before the demon could spring up into the raging storm, he was stopped by a powerful grip on the thick main spar of his wing.

"You need to take me with you!"

The demon swung around spitting out a snarling curse only to pull up straight as he was confronted by a slender, auburn haired, very naked man.

"MORTAL…YOU INVITE DEATH BY DELAYING ME."

To the demon's amazement, not only did the man NOT let go of his wing, but he had the audacity to smile grimly up into that grey, terrifying visage.

"Mortal… is NOT one of my names. I am Griffin, a Lycan elder, first in Abraham's council, and nephew to Galian, the successor. I am a Second to the Patriarch and Alpha of the Neibelhiem pack! I have many titles… BUT…the one of most interest to you at the moment is that of…. PHYSICIAN!

The demon's molten gaze narrowed,

"FINE….I WILL CARRY YOU. I WOULD ADVISE THAT YOU… FLUFF…BACK OUT, IT IS GOING TO BE A ROUGH, COLD FLIGHT."

* * *

Yuffie woke in the uncomfortable position of being strapped tight to a cold metal exam table. As she tried to run her tongue out to moisten dry lips, two important facts became very clear. One…she had been unconscious long enough that she had made the Change to beast form. And two…. her mouth was tightly muzzled shut. The soft clink of metallic instruments being tapped together had the ninja's honey eyes rolling, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on around her. She gave a startled blink as her frame of vision was filled by the face of what looked like a sweet, elderly grandmother. The other woman smiled and Yuffie felt her skin crawl as that dragonish smile did not reach those cold, calculating hazel eyes.

"Ah…my dear, I see that you are finally awake. Good…It was certainly worth the wait to get my hands on an excellent specimen such as yourself. I felt that waiting a little longer for you to be …aware…during this, our first session together would make it that much more…special."

Yuffie worked her mouth, but the muzzle was too tight to get anything out. All she managed was a soft grunt. The scientist tilted her head slightly and frowned,

"What was that? Oh…. I have the muzzle to tight? Hold on a sec."

The woman loosened the thing enough that Yuffie could part her jaws a little.

"There…that is better isn't it. Silly me….if I have it too tight….how would I be able to hear you scream?"

The now very frightened girl sucked in a breath as Angelique lifted a scalpel and turned it back and forth so that razor edge could catch the light.

"I think we will start by seeing how well this wonderful Changed body of yours deals with differing degree's of damage."

As that innocuous piece of metal made it's first coldly burning cuts, Yuffie managed to bite her tongue and remain silent. As the damage being inflicted by the softly humming scientist became more…imaginative…. and the sweeping cuts were placed in such a way as to create serious damage, the hot tempered ninja found some relief in letting loose with some very creative cursing. (Cid would have been oh so proud!)

The "good" Doctor frowned and the Changeling had a brief second to think… ah FUCK! Then that keen, slicing edge plunged its' flame deep into her defenseless, soft belly, creating a large entrance for hands to explore the young woman's innards. Yuffie arched against her restraints, her body in too much shock and pain to make a sound. Angel ignored what writhing the pinned "experiment" could achieve while nimble fingers placed silver clips to keep that horrendous wound from closing. This would make it possible for the scientist to take her time as she explored the unique specimen's inner anatomy with prying eyes, prodding instruments and cruel fingers. Yuffie lost all ability to think rationally. Her abused, cut muscles twitched in uncontrolled spasms while bloody foam gathered on her lips as she screamed and screamed.

* * *

I shall try and get the next chapter posted in less time than it took me to post this. THANK YOU to those of you who wished me well while I was recuperating. You are very much appreciated.


	34. Chapter 34

BONUS! hehehe not feeling to badly tonight!

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 34

Chaos kept his swearing internal. He needed his every breath as the snow laden wind clawed at him with freezing talons like a living thing. Ice covered wings made any maneuvering difficult and his overtaxed muscles had long since passed the point of simple pain. Combine that with a system stressed by a multitude of old and new injuries plus a serious loss of blood, the demon lord was staying airborne on his iron will alone!

The wolf thing that he carried thankfully kept its' mouth shut, evidently very aware that his transport did not need any distractions. Griffin had even gone so far as to shift his body weight ever so slightly one way or the other as they dipped, rose and fell on the currents whim. This made it easier than if the demon was carrying a dead weight. Still…Chaos was very near the end of his formidable strength when a sweep of the wind parted the snow, giving him a quick, welcomed view of the mansion's roof line. Exhaustion made the winged one just drop out of the sky. He was thankful that Reno wasn't there to witness the impact and subsequent explosion of soft snow as a snide comment about…hard…landings would have certainly winged the demon's way.

Griffin ended up on top, as the dark one had rolled at the last moment, letting his immortal body take the worst of the impact. A quick shake proved that nothing but some heat was going to help the frozen, spiky condition of his fur. To his surprise, Vincent's proud demon accepted the hand up that he offered. The weary visage had an odd look as the golden gaze raked over the Were's new style.

"What…?" Griffin ran broad, talon-ed fingers through the mess, trying to get the things to lay down.

Grey lips quirked in a tired smile.

"NOTHING…."

The winged form blurred as red mist surrounded him, it was Valentine's smoother softer tones that finished the thought.

"You just look a little like someone we know. HE…wears his hair in that style."

"Really!…."

Deep brown eyes blinked in consternation as the red cloaked gunman staggered towards the mansion. Griffin hustled to catch up.

"Are you telling me that he does it on pur….?"

The Were-beast almost slammed into the man's back as Vincent came to a sudden stop just inside of the great room. The warm, homey scene of people gathered around a warm fire had been replaced by a scene from a slaughter house. The fire had long since gone out and there was blood splattered and pooled through out the room. The freezing air muted but did not erase the smell of vomit, fear and pain that still lingered in the air.

"GODS…."

Already weary, Vincent swayed.

Without thinking through the possible consequences, Griffin slid a strong arm around the man's slender waist.

"The Gods….?"

Abraham had appeared in the entrance to the hall. The elderly man was pale, and his rolled up sleeves exposed arms and hands that were stained dark with blood.

"I would not put my faith in them….they usually have an agenda that does not include a mere mortal's wants and needs!"

Valentine stiffened at the unwanted contact and the bartender tactfully withdrew his support. The demon ridden man's words were almost obscured by the deep rumbling growl that accompanied them. All weariness was gone from his movements as the ex-Turk flowed towards the Valet.

"What in the nine HELLS happened here?"

"SHIT…!"

Griffin hastily moved to the side, flanking the retired assassin's path.

Not once in the Second's long life had he experienced a moments concern about Abraham's safety. The Patriarch was a cunning, ancient and powerful being. Not much could threaten him. BUT…. something about the way this crimson cloaked, tattered man moved screamed….predator…and even worse…RIVAL….to all of Griffin's highly tuned instincts. Without realizing it, he shifted down to pure beast. He stopped his forward prowl as his Alpha's steel eyes glanced his way and one hand made a stop and settle motion.

Vincent's cold red eyes never left the face of the man he was approaching. He could see the great wolf pacing him out of his peripheral vision but did not let it distract him from his target. His flesh hand had dropped and it clenched at his side as he realized that Cerberus had been left with Rude. No matter…the other hand was just as efficient a weapon. As he approached, much to his surprise, the Valet did NOT give ground. Abraham squared himself up, his chin dropped and that quicksilver gaze never shifted off of the ruby. There was NOTHING submissive in the old man's posture as his thin lips lifted to expose strong white teeth in a predators smile.

"You will STOP…youngling….I am NOT the enemy here!"

Valentine was jerked to a stop, almost against his will, by the authority that rang through the man's remarkably dulcet tones. He remained in a slight defensive crouch…he did not let his guard down, and that lethal claw was at the ready…. sharp talons spread wide. He kept his reaction short and sweet.

"Explain."

That intent metallic gaze never left the gunman's face as one of the bloody hands reached up to push a bunch of almost white hair back from the usually impeccably groomed manservant's face. The man winced at the sight of the blood and settled for pursing his lips and trying to blow the annoying strand away.

"I, unfortunately, saw very little of the attack. Their tranq darts were loaded with something very…potent. We might be able to wake the Turk up long enough for you to get some information, Whisper….."

Valentine straightened out of his position as the old man's face twisted unhappily and then settled back into it's usual calm lines. Griffin's large form slid past the two of them and disappeared down the hall before Vincent could protest. The Turk…. Whisper….the ex-Turk did not miss the fact that Abraham did not mention any of the females.

"Abraham….where are the girls?"

For a moment, something ancient and savage peeked out of the old man's too calm visage, then it was gone.

"I only found blood from the two boys who now reside in the lab. I believe the females were….taken."

Vincent fought a short vicious battle with his demons, one wanting to race through the storm ravaged forest, one wanting to fly, both consumed with a savage, rage filled bloodlust. Because of his "guests" combined exhaustion the Host just barely won this one. Still…. the eyes that never left Abraham glowed a bloody, molten gold and a hellstorm edged his words with thunder.

"I need to talk to Reno."

Chaos in particular had a bone to pick with the cocky redhead and if the Turk wasn't very careful in his answers it would be his bones that were demon picked.

At least that is what the trio was thinking until Abraham drew back the curtain separating Reno from the lab proper. Vincent hissed through his teeth and was surprised to hear a concerned hum from Chaos at the wreck that the attackers had made of the Turk. Reno's pale skin was more grey than white with dark greenish half circles smudged above the bright red tattoos under his closed eyes. Thick, blood spotted bandages were wound around the man's upper chest and one shoulder. Where it was not covered, his flesh was a mottled black and blue.

The Valet stepped past the motionless gunman and twitched the coverlet down to show that the redhead's lower body was also heavily bandaged and he was strapped to an immobilizing back board. At Vincent's silent brow raised look. Abraham tucked the blanket back around the narrow waist with an oddly gentle motion.

"He took a bullet in the back. Also one in his upper lung. I managed to stabilize him but he will have to wait for surgery until Griffin can get Whisper stable or… not."

Crimson eyes traveled over the myriad of machines that flashed and beeped around the injured Turk. Such was his…experience…in these matters that he could see that Reno was holding his own, but barely so. The gunman's lips tightened, he was having a hard time controlling his visceral reaction to being down here. A soft moan had his pale face turning back towards Reno as the unconscious man stirred. Anger flashed across the stoic features as the gunman realized that the Turk's wrists were tied tight to the bed frame. One elegant leather clad finger reached out to stroke lightly down Reno's bruised forearm then paused to tap lightly on the restraint.

"You have about three seconds to explain these before I get….upset."

"It is for his own safety, I assure you.."

One of Abraham's long fingered hands rolled gracefully in the direction of the Turk's mauled shoulder.

"There were two…ah…Troop… males with the kidnappers. One of them gave the boy a very nasty bite. I awoke just in time to keep him from scrambling his own brains with a self administered bullet."

A tired smile quirked the thin lips.

"He would not accept my…. assurance that everything would work out and seeing that he was a little….stubborn…I felt it prudent to take precautions in case he regained awareness while I worked on Whisper"

They were interrupted by the strident beeping of several medical monitors going off, a quick glance assured them both that is wasn't Reno. A spate of growled cursing followed by "Abraham…I need your hands!" had the Valet turning to look at the alcove where Griffin was working on Whisper.

The steel gaze settled intently on Valentine's face.

"I am not sure when he will wake up, but if you want a report on what happened, you should stay here and keep an eye that he stays stable, the one bullet is in a very bad spot. I need to go assist Griffin."

Valentine again gave the machines and needles a hesitant glance and he tried to ignore the rolling in his stomach that being in a med lab always caused.

Chaos' softly rumbled, "SUCK IT UP, HOST! WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED HERE!" finally had him settling his long frame into a chair that Abraham set by the bed. As the Valet headed towards the curtained off corner of the lab that held the surgical bay, pale green eyes slitted open and Reno managed a croaking, desperate whisper.

"Yo…. Val….that black bastard bit …untie …please…. ole fucker wouldn't let me….

The Valet had stopped and he turned back to the room, one grizzled brow cocked up.

"This VERY old …fucker… is privy to information you don't have. All is not as desperate as it seems. Be patient I will be back to explain as soon as Griffin doesn't need me."

Vincent lifted a hand before the man could duck behind the curtain. His words were soft, almost a whisper.

"Tell me the truth, Abraham…is Reno going to…Change?

The old man sighed.

"I AM sorry, this should have been HIS choice. Yes, there is no stopping the metamorphosis now… BUT…. it will not be in the way that you think…Whisper saw to that. Now…. I really do need to help with my son."

Crimson watched the man disappear and then settled only to widen a little in surprise at the look of apprehension on the injured Turk's face. Reno cleared his throat and his voice was a little stronger if not somewhat…whiney.

"Ah man….ya aren't goin ta let Chaos kick my ass, are ya? Yo, don get me wrong…don mind dying, jes don wanna have my ass kicked while I'm doin it!"

The man's green eyes slid closed for a second and he managed a weak, gurgling chuckle.

"Course, couldn't feel his big feet on my butt anyway…OH…and you could wait till I …Changed…then at least I'd have the chance ta drag myself around and maybe gnaw on his fricken ankles a bit fore I die."

At Chaos' prompting Valentine leaned forwards a little and his clawed hand tightened carefully on Reno's bound wrist. The voice that rumbled past the gunman's lips was deep and rough.

"THE ASS KICKING CAN WAIT TURK…. AND… WE ALL THREE AGREE TO THIS… IF YOU DO NEED TO BE…PUT DOWN …WE WILL BE SURE IT IS DONE QUICKLY AND WITHOUT THE ANKLE BITING."

A surprisingly sweet smile curved the Turks lips up as he seemed to relax without moving.

"Yo…man…thanks, ya don know what that means ta me!"

He winced slightly as Vincent's hand tightened a little.

"Don't go back to sleep Reno…we need to know what happened here."

Taking careful, liquid sounding breaths, Reno responded by giving the gunman a short, very concise briefing on the attack. As the Turk gave him a halting description of the man who had accompanied Dr. Angelique and as he pictured Duprey,(oh yes….they still remembered THAT one's face!) Vincent felt his heart freeze to a laboring halt….Chaos also stilled and there was rage plus a sick fear for their mates in his deep voice.

"HOST…AH NO!…TELL HIM TO REPEAT THAT!"

At the second hesitant description, green eyes flew wide as the empty chair tipped and then crashed to the floor.

"YO…WHOA…Vince! Those were Deepground Dragonflies!...they are slow but can handle some really crappy weather and they have a huge range!. You will never tra…. Ah SHIT!"

Reno ignored the pain and the blood that taking a deep breath forced up into his throat as he watched that crimson form flow out of the door..

"ABRAHAM! "

The valet came shooting out of the surgical bay at the panic in the Turk's voice. Reno was just barely able to choke the words out between bloody coughs.

"Valentine…ya got to stop him!

* * *

Vincent was moving through the great room when there was a soft rush of misplaced air, and a heavy weight slammed into his back sending him tumbling to the floor. Fiery pain from the numerous bites and slashes on his battle weary body made his vision swim as the freshly sealed wounds tore back open. Before he could recover, strong hands flipped him then….Vincent could not conceal his shock as the old man lifted his heavier than it looked frame and slammed him hard up against the wood paneling. Pain made the gunman gag as his ruby eyes rolled back for a second. As the gunslinger grimly held on to consciousness he managed to focus on Abraham only to have his raven brows arch as the Valet's lips lifted in a snarl to expose elongating canines. The metallic eyes picked up the glow of molten steel.

"YOUNG FOOL! Do you have a death wish!"

Vincent managed to get his hands up but could not loosen Abraham's grip. He got a rough shake as his only reward. There was a rumble in that soft voice that had not been there before.

"If you go out now…these mountains will kill you."

Vincent blinked hazily, trying to pull his thoughts together. The ex-Turk was not used to being manhandled and it had been a LONG time since Chaos had felt intimidated. It did not help that the Galian Beast chose this moment to flood them both with the desire to roll belly up and offer their throats in submission. Both the Host and the dominant demon turned on their subordinate in astonishment.

"WHAT THE HELL….BEAST!"

The gunslinger staggered, the recipient of a vivid image of the Galian crouched with tail tucked, practically quivering.

"**Can't help it… can't help it**!"

A panting pink tongue was added to the picture.

"**I KNOW him…we do NOT want to challenge this one**!"

Valentine quickly tightened the leash on an outraged Chaos.

"How do you know him…beast?"

The Galian's images ears flattened and he whined.

**"I don't know…but his blood SINGS to me, Master of mine…listen to him. He is very old, he is wise.**!"

"YES…AND RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT…. I THINK HE CAN KICK OUR COMBINED BUTTS!"

"What….?"

Both demons winced as their Host growled and then explosively released his frustration.

The Patriarch did little more than blink at the breeze as that gleaming gold fist put a hole through the hardwood paneling not inches from his head. He tightened his grip on the crimson cloaked shoulders but refrained from giving this particular youngling another shake as he eased the man away from the wall. The Alpha knew when NOT to press his luck.

"It is going to take ALL of us to find and bring our females back. I have already broadcasted the… WORD. As soon as this storm lets up even a little, every wolf on the planet, be it Were or brethren will have their eyes, ears and noses searching for the missing. We WILL find them!"

Vincent sagged in Abrahams strong grip. The ex-Turk knew that the man was right. Even if "they" were operating at one hundred percent, Neibelhiem mountain storms were deadly killers. Besides… by now….the wind and snow would have obliterated any traces of their foe.

Abraham sighed, and glanced at the blood that had splattered the wall where he had slammed the gunman. Ah…another one to add to the walking wounded list it seemed. He kept his tone gentle as he gave a slight tug, guiding the stumbling gunslinger in the direction he wanted him to go.

"Now…please come back down and keep an eye on Reno. Whisper is not doing well and I would hate to lose both of those boys."

* * *

It took everything he had for the gunman to stay in that med bay listening to Reno's increasingly ragged breathing, the soft beep of monitors and the strident alarms that occasionally sounded from the surgical alcove accompanied by urgent voices and the occasional curse. Chaos perked up a little as SOME of the swearing was in a language HE had not heard in millennia.

Hours had passed when Abraham came out to prep Reno. He kept his voice soft as he explained to Vincent that Whisper was far from out of danger, but seemed to be holding his own. It seemed that the White Were had been Reno's guardian angel in the fact that they had been engaging in "physical" activities while the male was in his human form. This had transferred special cells into Reno, in essence teaching the man's immune system to control and manipulate the Were's lethal virus. When Reno made the Change, HE would have control over it. The Turk would become a TRUE Were.

Reno was in and out of awareness, the gunman listened carefully so that he could ease any fears the redhead might have when he awoke. As they transferred the too still man to a surgery bed, Vincent offered his services when they reached a point with the Turk that a cure could be used.

The manservant gave him a tired smile….

"I can cast Cure, so can Griffin. As a matter of fact, we intend to take care of your injuries as soon as we finish with Reno."

At the gunman's confused look the man gave a soft chuckle.

"Our …allergies….fade as we mature. I can guarantee that silver would have very little effect on Griffin and none at all on myself. Still….thank you for the offer. I am sure you are aware that a Cure will only help the body with what it would do naturally. It cannot grow a spinal cord back. Griffin thinks that if we remove the bullets and just nudge things and stabilize them back where they belong, there is a small chance that the boy's new healing factor will repair his spine when he makes his first Change."

* * *

Griffin opened the curtain and was wheeling Whisper's bed in as Abraham loosed the brakes and started Reno towards the surgery bay. The Turk stirred and there was a flash of green as they came abreast.

"Yo…stop.!"

This was whispered out as the beds passed each other. Red brows pulled down in a frown.

"Shit…untie my damned hand!."

Abraham elongated a nail into a talon and delicately sliced the Turk's restraint. The man's pale fingers drifted out and carefully tucked themselves for a second into a limp, white, tape and needles covered hand. Reno gave a slight squeeze.

"Yo….ya hang in there big guy. I'll be back in jest a sec. Wouldn't want ya to see any face but mine when ya wake up."

As Abraham got them moving again Reno rolled his eyes so he could catch the man's steely gaze.

"Ah…Braham…Ya promise? This'll be okay?"

The Patriarch only hesitated a moment, then he carefully patted the Turk's less injured shoulder as he guided the bed under the bright surgical lamps.

"Yes…Reno everything will turn out all right. I give you my word."

The man went out of his way to avoid meeting Griffin's tired, worried brown eyes as he slipped the anesthesia mask over the Turk's white face.

* * *

Marion pressed back against the wall as Duprey turned off the current on her cell and opened the door. The massive bulk of Titan entered and dropped a limp, bloody ball of Yuffie on the floor. As Marion started forward without thinking, the male gaped at her and growled. Dr. Bernard Duprey watched and then beckoned for her to walk out. When she hesitated the man very softly spoke.

"You will follow me…if you give me ANY flack, Titan will deal with you."

She was lead into a well equipped surgical bay and the Vet stumbled to a halt when she realized that Ice was strapped to the center table. The Were female was awake, her soft whine just audible as Dr. Angelique finished up a pelvic exam. Her ex-boss gave her a sweet smile.

"Ah….Marion I am SO glad that you are here to assist me with this. I have done Cesareans before, but not on an animal, and not when just one fetus is to be removed. I expect that you will be more skilled at doing this then I. After all, we want NO harm to come to Specimen C6's other infants…. now do we."

At this, Ice hissed and writhed trying desperately to escape her restraints.

Marion tried to stagger back, only too run into Titan's broad, hard chest.

"Mother Gia….NO…you BITCH. I won't do it!"

Something evil and very nasty looked at her through the elderly woman's eyes as Duprey gave a dark chuckle.

"I told you she wouldn't do it. You might as well give her to me…."

A wicked smile curved the older woman's thin lips.

"Oh….I don't know…don't you think Titan would like a tidbit that isn't a sloppy second?"

Ice went perfectly still on the table at the woman's hissed words.

Marian thought she would faint as the beast behind her rumbled his approval of this plan and she felt his length press and then grind against her ass for a moment.

OH GODS! Still the woman was going to refuse, then she saw the fingers on one of Ice's restrained hands move through a slow dance.

_"No choice…better you than her."_

The little Vet swallowed a sob.

"Were do I scrub up…?"

Marion had managed, by the time she finished scrubbing and double gloving, to capture some of the cold clinical detachment that she had used as a scientific research intern. Even back then she had always had problems keeping her emotions out of the way when the research experiments she had to perform had pricked her conscious. She lost what little calm she had gained when Angelique informed her that anesthesia would not be used during the procedure. The researcher did not want to put the other kits under its' influence this soon after the specimen had been tranqed. When the Vet balked and insisted that they at least use a spinal block, the twisted woman's cold eyes had narrowed and she had casually mentioned that being "used" by Titan, was a guaranteed and …gruesome…. death sentence.

That was how the little Vet found herself standing in the operating theatre, staring at Ice's defenseless shaved flank, a razor edged scalpel clutched in her shaking hand. Mother Gia…..She was so twisted up inside that she was having hard time visualizing how the muscles and major arteries lay in this area. She flinched as Ice jumped in her restraints when the scientist used a finger to carefully trace out where her first cut would be. Oh GODS…..

"Ice….!"

The female's frightened silvery blue eyes met hers. Their pupils were dilated wide in sheer terror.

Marion made a huge effort and kept her voice steady and calm.

"Ice….you well HAVE to keep perfectly still. The other kit's lives depend on this!"

The silver shifted to slate as Ice's inner eyelids flicked closed. The long slender finger's clenched for a second into fists and then relaxed.. Marion could not help herself as the researcher in her noted the small wave that passed over the bound form as the Were used her exquisite control and stilled every muscle in her body. All that moved was the slight rise and fall of her arched ribcage as she took slow, shallow breaths. Marion took her own deep breath and focused in hard on her trembling hands. The only thing she could do to help Ice was to be rock steady and to work FAST.

As the woman's medical training kicked in, the shaking in her hands stilled. Not letting herself second guess, Marion made her first controlled, sweeping cut. She knew that the scalpel was so sharp that for a second or two Ice's nervous system would translate only a hot/cold sensation… not one of pain. Using that precious window, the Vet slipped the blade between the muscle fiber, cutting the connective tissue. A flash of movement and Angelique was putting gleaming silver clips in place to keep the wound open. The bitch was humming softly as she used a retractor to spread the muscles apart, making the opening gape wide.

Marion could feel every muscle in Ice's body quivering as she fought for control. A soft whining moan worked its' way out of the female's damaged throat as the scientist's hands dipped inside her abdominal cavity to move organs out of the way, exposing the smooth uterine wall to Marion's knife. A quick glance at the monitors showed Ice's heart rate was skyrocketing and her blood pressure was falling, the Were not only bled at the surgical site but had bitten through her lips or tongue and crimson leaked out of the corners of her clamped lips to streak across her velveteen cheeks. The Vet savagely stepped on her own screaming heart as she made her next incisions. One hand slid into the now opened womb and gently eased a small birth sac encased body away from its' sibs. Mother Gia….the little kit moved, tiny hands or were they feet slid along her palm as if the infant was curious about this unfamiliar entity entering its' limited world. Marion breathed a soft prayer that it was not aware that she was killing it when her razor's edge separated it from its' placenta. For a couple of heart stopping seconds, blood flooded from the wound in a ruby waterfall as she cut the umbilical cord, then Ice's healing factor kicked in and the flow slowed. The feebly squirming kit was plucked from her hands by an impatient Angel and as Marion frantically removed clips and started some stitches in the silver contaminated incision, she could hear the researcher speaking into a recorder as she made cold clinical notes.

"The fetus was delivered live via C-section. The addition of two extra limbs demonstrates that Hojo's deformation birth control protocols are still in place."

Ice jerked against Marion's hands, the female losing her control for the first time in this horrendous ordeal. The Vet took a quick second to surreptitiously stroke a soft hip. The silvery eyes flashed open and the woman pursed her lips a little and gave a slight shake of her head. They did not need to give this bitch ANY clue's as to that doomed kit's parentage. There was the slim chance that NEITHER of the two researchers had ever seen Chaos' unique genetic footprint.

Marion's hands faltered in their stitching as she distinctly heard a soft squeak that was quickly smothered.

Angel did not miss a beat,

"The infant did draw a first breath but as expected, fetal development is not far enough advanced for it's immature lungs to sustain life. The female's cadaver well be used for further research and for the harvesting of stem cells."

The Vet had to blink as her vision blurred but her clever fingers did not slow in their task. Marion was very aware that if this did not heal well, the weaker scar tissue could tear during the stress put on it when Ice went into labor.

As Angelique's cold voice continued recording the lost kit's statistics, Ice closed her eyes and turned, as best she could in her restraints, away from the Vet. Wet silver joined the crimson of blood in tracking down her still face. For Marion, having to witness the Were's grief for her lost daughter was made all that much worse by the fact that Ice again bit into her lips and her tears were shed in complete silence.

* * *

Abraham and Griffin had managed to keep the gunman down in the lab just long enough to keep a watchful eye on Whisper's very critical condition while they worked on the Turk. The gunman had tried to vacate as soon as he had satisfied himself that the two Were's had done everything that they could for Reno. (All they could do for the man's shattered back was wait and see if it would pull together when he made his first Change.) Abraham, who was VERY aware that the gunman had a real phobia about anything medical, let him leave with the promise that when the Alpha came looking for him later, the man would allow his injuries to be treated. Valentine had remained silent for a long moment. Abraham just waited patiently, he knew that the man was "conversing" with his demons. Still… Vincent had finally agreed to this and had insisted that they come and get him if Reno showed any signs that he was going to Change.

Abraham found Vincent holed up in the mansion's library. Really…. he should have looked there first. BUT…he had checked the quiet man's room first, hoping that the ex-Turk's obvious exhaustion would drive him to sleep. What the man NEEDED was a couple of months to rest and recuperate in order to replace his body's depleted resources! The Patriarch shook his head, he knew better. In all the time that the Valet had silently observed the man, he had realized that Vincent very rarely slept and the sleep he did manage to get was frequently disturbed by night terrors. The raven haired man spent more time pacing quietly or reading by the library's great fireplace when he was home, than he did in his own room. Really, it seemed that the great winged one he Hosted spent more time in bed than the human did. Of course, it was Ice's bed and Abraham was pretty sure that the demon wasn't sleeping while HE was there. Still… more often then not…when this happened, Vincent would at least get to rest part of the night, sleeping while cradled protectively within Ice's warm embrace. The Patriarch would not be surprised to find out that the Demon Lord planned it that way.

Abraham paused in the partially open doorway, his experienced eye taking in the ex-Turk's ragged condition. Valentine was standing motionless in front of one of the tall windows, looking out at the driving snow. He had built a fire and removed his tattered cloak as the library heated up. The gunman was leaning against the window frame, his arms crossed, golden talons glimmering as they tapped a nervous tattoo against his flesh arm. The firelight reflected off a waterfall of raven hair that cascaded down to brush against the elaborate holster that was strapped around his narrow hips. This shifting, midnight curtain obscured most of the man's broad shouldered back. Occasionally, as he breathed, it would ripple and glimpses of porcelain pale skin could be seen through the rents that sharp claws and teeth had torn in the fabric of his black shirt. The flat ebony of dried blood absorbed that same light making it very clear that a lot of the damage did not stop at the cloth.

As the Patriarch stepped into the room, the medical instruments on the tray he carried rattled together. Valentine gave lie to his relaxed stance. The man spun and his gun hand blurred. Before he could even blink, Abraham found himself staring down the business end of a long, evil looking Peacemaker that had been discreetly tucked into that custom designed holster. The Valet slowly finished his blink. He lifted his tray slightly, drawing the gunslinger's tired eyes to it.

"I would certainly hate to have this bottle of fine cognac sacrifice itself by taking a bullet for me."

One of those elegant brows arched up, followed by a soft…

"Hnnnn…that would be a shame."

Valentine eased the hammer back as the weapon dipped and then smoothly disappeared back into its' assigned place.

The manservant settled his tray of supplies and fine liquor on a small side table beside the fire. His lean hand made a small "come hither and sit" gesture and he hid a slight smile as the ex-Turk responded automatically then stiffened as he caught himself. The man hesitated a moment as if to make it clear that he could resist the pull if he wanted to and then he stalked forwards to take a seat by the table.

"I would very much like to know how you do that!"

The old man turned to pour a couple of snifters of the cognac, this served to hide his look of "satisfaction" and also the slight glow that lit his eyes whenever he asserted his dominance. When he turned back to serve the gunslinger, his gaze was again simple, steady steel.

"I am the eldest lycanthrope on the planet. My Grandfather was the founding Alpha male of the "Family." and my Father served in that position after him, as would my son after me. All who share my bloodline are…hardwired…so to speak, to respond to my authority."

Vincent, who had been in the process of sipping his drink seemed to freeze for a second then he casually set his glass down.

"Authority….? Hnnn…the Galian beast insists that he knows/doesn't know you…?"

The man left the statement as a question….. open ended.

Abraham just studied the young (lets face it…in comparison with the Alpha's millennia…the boy was very young!) man's face for a moment. Valentine was VERY good at concealing his thoughts and feelings behind a cold almost disinterested mask, but the Patriarch could almost feel the man's desperate need for information. He suddenly realized that, where as Vincent SEEMED to cope very well with his…augmentations, the ex-assassin knew very little about the entities occupying his mind. AND… even if Chaos had deigned to fill him in on pertinent facts about HIS omnipotent self…The one he called the Galian beast was probably as much in the dark about its' existence as its' Host was.

The Patriarch took a fortifying sip of his own drink and lightly tapped the solid, black clad shoulder.

"Why don't you let me take a look at those wounds and we will see if the theory I have tentatively worked out is plausible."

Vincent's inscrutable crimson gaze dropped, and as the man slipped out of his ragged shirt, he looked stoically at the table top. Abraham got the distinct impression that the man was ashamed of the way his chest ,shoulders, and back were crisscrossed with a multitude of silvery scars. There was not an inch of beautiful skin that was not marred by these old wounds, open, weeping new ones and the mixed black, green and blue of bruising and dried blood.

The Patriarch's thin lips tightened as he sent a trickle of power out, confirming to himself that a lot of the damage was not just skin deep.….by the GODS….somebody needed to take this boy and SHAKE him. If ANY of his Seconds had allowed themselves to get into this kind of condition, well HE would have kicked their BUTTS! Just for a second his probe brushed against something ancient and immensely powerful…Abraham got a brief flash of amusement from the entity for his intrusion, and… disrespectful… thoughts, than he was gently but firmly pushed OUT!

Guilt flashed through the Were….after all… he could have relieved some of the burden on this man's shoulders by coming clean sooner and allowing some of his more…aggressive…Pack Males to help deal with the Changeling outbreaks. The Valet stifled a sigh…and reached for the cloth nestled in a bowl of hot water mixed with antiseptic, better late than never.

Vincent tried very hard to disassociate himself from the cool sensation of Abraham's fingers tracing along his back followed by stinging and heat as the Valet carefully cleaned dried blood from his skin and wounds. He did NOT like to be touched, even by people he considered his friends. The elderly man seemed to be very aware of his discomfort because he murmured a soft apology, the gunman stiffened when he realized that it was not directly solely at him.

"Please relay to your eldest that I apologize for the intrusion….BUT… I do need to triage what is most serious here. Your body's resources are VERY low and the type of healing that I do will draw on them along with mine."

It was Chaos who cleared up the ex-Turk's confusion. His rumbling explanation did NOT help Vincent's peace of mind at all.

"ABRAHAM WAS PROBING YOU….I INTERFERED. IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT UP WITH GALIAN AND I BEING IN HERE WITHOUT SOMEONE ELSE RUMMAGING ABOUT WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. BE VERY CAREFUL, HOST…THIS ONE IS A LOT MORE THAN HE APPEARS."

Valentine straightened in his chair with a soft…. Hnnn….ruby glinted as he warily watched the Valet pull a chair around and settle in front of him with the obvious intention of continuing his clean-up on this side. Cold, golden talons encircled the man's wrist before he could touch the steaming cloth to pale skin. Vincent's voice was soft but it demanded an answer.

"AGAIN….I would very much like to know…. how did you do that!"

Steely grey eyes picked up a molten glow then dimmed as Abraham looked away.

"By blood my people are linked. This is especially true with my lineage. The Patriarch is absolute law in our society and the Family is compelled by these blood ties to obey that dominance. In return, and as a balance, the Patriarch leads… BUT… he also serves….every new pack member is linked to him at their birth or at their "Making". Each KNOWS him from the moment they enter this world and he is aware of their…essence…until the day the bond is broken by oblivion. This keeps us united even when we are… by necessity…scattered to the four winds.

My Grandfather passed the title of Patriarch down to his son, and my father bequeathed it to me. Oh Valentine….!"

The gunman felt something in him twist at the fear…and quiet longing that filled the man's voice.

"Your blood SINGS to mine!"

In the back of his mind, the beast gave out a low, moaning whine at this odd echo of his earlier words. ….Vincent could feel the old man shaking in his careful grip as he continued.

"I had a son, a chosen and cherished successor who was destined to take my place when I wearied of this world, and I am weary…. Valentine…weary in a way that only your Eldest could possibly understand!….My son fought, my son DIED…. trying to protect his mother, my life's love and her unborn litter….my LAST litter….from Shinra."

That darkened steel never stopped searching the ex-Turks face.

"This beloved son's given name was…. Galian."

Valentine felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of the room as his psyche was overwhelmed by the Beast. Joy, bitter sadness at what had been taken away, and the aching loneliness off a Pack creature kept in literal isolation poured through him. Added to this… was a pure rage aimed at Chaos…who had slapped a proverbial collar on the Beast as a safeguard to their floundering Host's sanity when the Galian tried to rise. The lesser demon fought back with untold strength, fueled by the desperate fear of losing something just found that he hadn't even known had been lost!

The end result was Vincent's head feeling like it was going to blow apart and splatter demon all over the room. He vaguely realized that his tightening grip just might be breaking Abraham's arm.

"Mother Gia…. CHAOS…let him OUT!"

Vincent had "Changed" many times over years so he was taken back when instead of the blessed darkness he usually experienced as he gave up his body, he found himself in the unfamiliar position of "standing" next to Chaos, while watching through the ecstatic Beast's eyes. The gunman's mental…self …staggered and the much larger demon put out a casual hand to steady him.

"Chaos…!What,,,?"

"HUSH…HOST….I MAY NEED YOUR STRENGTH IF THE OLD WOLF HURTS THE BEAST IN….ANY…WAY!"

Chaos slanted a sly look Vincent's way. And grinned wickedly at the pole-axed look on his Host's face.

"… WHAT?….I COULD HAVE KEPT YOU AWAKE AND AWARE EVERYTIME YOUR BODY WAS TAKEN. I JUST DID NOT WANT TO PUT UP WITH ALL OF THE MOANING AND WHINING ABOUT BEING A MONSTER…,OR GODS FORBID…YOUR IDEA OF PENANCE!"

Valentine just blinked…

"AND CLOSE YOUR MOUTH….!"

The Dark One's attention turned back to what was happening on the outside.

The Galian beast had staggered erect during the Shift and the old man had risen at the same time. Power swirled through the room as an ancient, craggy wolf replaced the svelte form of the Valet. Abraham at one time had been the robed in the rich deep red of chestnuts gleaming in the Autumn sun. White had age grizzled his lean muzzle and salted that rich coat but the muscles that rolled under the shaggy hide were still well formed and strong. He was not near as large as the Galian, but confidence in what and who he was made it very clear that this one felt he had nothing to fear here. The Alpha male's eyes gleamed like molten metal as the great wolf stalked forwards, ears pricked, bushy tail held high. The gunman could not believe that ANYONE had ever mistaken this creature for a simple wolf.

Both of the voyeurs winced at the apprehension that rolled through the Galian. Seeing a living part of his past had evidently re-awakened some of the beast's dim memories. These were not vivid… but….they were clear enough for the young male to know that he was a mere shadow of what he had once been. The beast dropped to all fours with a softly whined…

"**Father**?"

The very end of his shaggy tail twitched in a half hearted wag.

Valentine's brows tried to crawl off of his forehead as Chaos wearily powered up…it seemed that the Elder of the two demons was bound and determined to back up his threat if the younger was caused ANY pain. The Demon Lord's worried gaze turned his way for a moment.

"DO YOU THINK, VALENTINE, THAT…YOU…WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO LOST SOMETHING BECAUSE OF HOJO? THE GALIAN HAS LIVED IN LONELINESS AND PAIN SINCE SHINRA BROUGHT HIM BACK MUCH DIMINISHED AND MELDED HIM TO YOU. "WE"…ARE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FAMILY OR PACK. HE, LIKE YOU, WAS BADLY DAMAGED IN BODY AND MIND BY HOJO AND HAD NO ONE TO LEAN ON WHILE HE RECOVERED. …HELL….YOU WERE TO WOUND UP IN YOUR SORROW TO GIVE HIM THE CONTACT HE CRAVED AND I WAS TO BOUND UP IN MY HATE TO BE OF ANY AID."

The harsh growl moderated, and Vincent heard something he had never thought to hear coming from the mighty being… self recrimination and guilt

"WHAT A SORRY PAIR WE HAVE BEEN."

The demon returned his attention to the odd home coming.

Vincent was surprised when he looked in his supposedly dead heart and found that he agreed with the demon's next almost whispered statement.

"BY MY DEAD GODS…..I DO NOT WISH TO SEE THIS CRUSH HIS DOGGY SPIRIT."

The man shifted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ancient….he and Chaos were as one in this. If Abraham did not watch his step….there would be HELL to pay!

Abraham stalked to the younger Were's side and that lean head dipped to lightly sniff along the Galian's nervously panting mouth. The gunman, who had made an art out of reading people could see that the old wolf was VERY aware that Shinra had damaged that which was precious to him. BUT….the graying head slid its' cheek along the broader, blunter snout and then buried its' questing nose into that shaggy, pale mane. Just barely heard was a softly murmured…"Beloved son…..my Galian…." and a soft snort made the wisps around the black horn's rise and then fall as the Father moved along, rubbing his chin softly down his son's broad back. Vincent swallowed against the sudden lump that had developed from nowhere in his throat and tried to distract himself by wondering how the solemn Valet reconciled himself to having a gently wagging tail…it seemed a rather undignified thing.

"HMPH…"The deep, always rough voice was oddly stilted and Chaos studiously avoided looking in his Host's direction.

"THE BEAST SAYS THAT ONE CANNOT SHOW PROPER…ENTHUSIASM…IF ONE DOES NOT POSSES A TAIL!"

And…it would seem…. A voice.

The old wolf lifted his long face, his molten eyes seemed to ignite and the dying coals in the fireplace exploded into high dancing flames. The Patriarch raised his belling voice, singing to the elements his thanks for the return of a loved one thought long lost…even if he was not everything AND something more than what he once had been. For a second he sang alone, then Galian threw back his head and his deeper tones joined and blended with that of his father's A third, lighter voice rang out from the basement labs and the two watchers listened in wonder as the haunting beauty of joyful wolf song echoed and rang through the stately mansion's deserted halls.

* * *

Angelique jerked away from the cell sample she was studying as Duprey stormed into her lab and slammed a DNA breakdown under her nose. A blunt finger stabbed down pointing out an odd genetic footprint.

Bernard, it seemed, was livid.

"That's the fucking Chaos Gene, Angel!…I would recognize it anywhere! It seems that your trained BITCH wasn't as much at heel as you thought!

Angelique stared at the incriminating evidence. The fetus was worth a fortune as a research cadaver and stem cell reservoir….BUT if it truly was the dark demon's get…it had been priceless as a living weapon. The nasty, evil look that settled on the "Good" Doctor's face did not bode well for the recipient of her displeasure.

"That bleeding heart, conniving little CUNT!"

The Doctor tapped her pen against the countertop and then gave her assistant a savage, cold eyed glare.

" Fine….I thought that MAYBE specimen M might have more use to us than to be just an incubator. Evidently I was wrong!"

Narrowed hazel eyes pinned Duprey were he stood.

"Bernard, make an example of her.….Hurt her….Cure her and then give her to Shadow."

The man nodded and turned to leave, only to stop as his boss cleared her throat.

"If she kindles, Duprey….I want there to be no question as to the litter's paternity…do you understand?"

The sadistic man grinned….

"Oh…I will make DAMNED sure there is no possibility of cross contamination. My only question is….Do you want to watch?"

* * *

Thats all for tonight...I will try and post more soon...of course...an occasional review just might make my fingers work a little faster!


	35. Chapter 35

WARNING...WARNING TORTURE and NON-CONSENSUAL SEX (RAPE) in this chapter! Intended for Mature audience only! I have seriously edited this chapter to stay with in FF's Maturity guidelines...I DO recommend that you read the unedited one at Adult Fan Fiction if you are of age as Again I do not write gratuitous sex...this is in here to create a contrast (will be clear in the next chapter) and to make a point! I own none of final fantasy VII square enix holds that copyright. The Troop and the Family are mine!

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 35

Yuffie dragged herself awake only to wish that she had stayed in the depths of oblivion. There was NOT a part of her that did not hurt. She swallowed against a painful, dry throat (the ninja wondered ruefully if her screaming had left ANY lining on its' fiery insides….If this is what a prolonged bout of screaming caused, it was no wonder that Vincent's soft, deep voice had that odd rasp to it!) The girl pried her tear stuck eyelids open….a quick glance confirmed that they had brought her back to the same cell. Three times Titan had come to retrieve her. The first had been the surgical session with Angelique. The second had been a horrifying ordeal with the burly man who had orchestrated the kidnapping. His name was Dr. Bernard Duprey. It only took a few minutes to figure out why HE was the researcher this time. The fucker had systematically broken every bone in Yuffie's changed body just to watch and record how fast they healed. The sick bastard had done it with his bare hands and in the case of her long bones, he had enlisted the terrible strength of Titan. As Yuffie had writhed, screaming, against her bonds she had been horrified to realize that both males were sexually aroused by her agony. The princess had been certain that this particular session was going to end in a brutal rape. The frightened girl had closed her eyes, biting her lips when cruel hands and hard fingers had parted and penetrated where only Vincent's gentle touch had been before. Her sobs were ones of relief mixed with fear when the researcher went no further than this. No…he had prodded her OTHER very virgin entrance with a hard, latex covered digit and told her to be THANKFUL that she was an infectious Changeling!

Yuffie had NOT missed the sly look he sent the great beast's way. When Titan removed her restraints to lift her limp body off of the exam table, she could not clamp her broken legs together as the male's rough fingers explored where Duprey's had been as she was taken back to her cell. Before he dropped her painfully on the pad that was her "Bed" The beast had pushed one of those thick digits painfully into her while hissing softly into her twitching ear…"MINE" The beast then crooked that finger and its' sharp talon scraped at the inside of her sensitive passage as he withdrew it. Gleaming yellow eyes had narrowed in pleasure as she had jerked with fear and the pain of it in his massive arms. The young woman had not been able to stop the tears from streaking down her face as Titan casually licked his finger clean, lips lifting away from massive fangs in pleasure at the taste of her blood and her sex!.(OH Mother Gia….Vincent…Where are you? PLEASE hurry and get here!)

Yuffie managed to pull herself up and immediately scrambled to hang over the toilet that occupied one corner of the cell. Her throat protested violently as her stomach voided the toxins her healing factor had been cleansing from her system while she was unconscious. This last session had been to test her body's resistance to various chemicals and drugs. The scientist's had exposed, injected and forced her to swallow, a myriad of drugs, concoctions and chemicals. Some had filled her veins with fire, some with ice and the last injection had sent her into wrenching convulsions. As the ninja had finally escaped into blessed darkness she felt the sting of one more needle. Yuffie heard Angelique mention stem cells and Ice in the same breath. The ninja vaguely wondered if Angelique was tired of playing with her beast form and had given her Ice's antibodies to revert her back to human.

GODS…she felt like crap! As she leaned over the bowl, panting, Yuffie tried to piece together how long it had been since they arrived. She had only seen Marion for a fraction of a second when she had been returned to the cell the first time. The other two pads in their little prison had been unoccupied since the little Vet had been led away. Of Ice there was been no sign. Or, so she thought, until she realized that one of the sleeping pads was humped up in an odd way. The Changeling padded over on all fours as she did not trust her equilibrium. (the world had a tendency to spin a little every now and then.) When Yuffie lifted a corner up, a pair of slate grey eyes blinked at her and Ice curled her lips, exposing her elongated eyeteeth, in a warning snarl. Enough light got in, that the ninja could see a long wound in the female's shaven, pregnancy swollen flank. A small amount of blood was weeping from between the neat stitches that held the edges together.

"Oh Leviathan…Ice what happened?"

For a second the golden Were just ignored her, then her still face crumpled and her shaking hands spoke.

"_Marion took my little one….the white coat killed her_!"

Yuffie froze in confusion…Marion? Why would the Vet DO something as awful as that? The girl did not say a word…Seeing the look of total misery on her companion's lovely face, the ninja carefully crawled under the sleeping pad with her and gently folded herself around Ice's trembling body. They would get some much needed rest and when Marion finally showed up….well the White Rose of Wuttia would GET some answers!

* * *

Vincent jerked awake with a start. WHAT the…! He was in his own room, laying in his own bed. Careful fingers explored beneath the covers and ran into NOTHING. He was quite nude! Crimson eyes closed as the ex-Turk frantically tried to piece together his fragmented recent memories. After reuniting with his son…Abraham had gently suggested that the Galian return his Host's body as the man needed some medical attention. Evidently being aware while he was "possessed" was a serious physical drain, because as the Galian beast, (No…it was just Galian now, knowing that this was the demon's GIVEN name, made him seem less a beast somehow. ) released control, Valentine had collapsed. He would have hit the floor except for the fact that the Patriarch seemed to be expecting this. The Were's Change was so fast that he caught the exhausted gunslinger before he made a painful impact. He had a vague memory of being settled back into his chair and he distinctly recalled a hushed conversation between Abraham and Chaos as the latter kept him partially suppressed. It seemed the two ancient beings wanted to compare notes as to what healing needed to be done WITHOUT his squirming, complaining or….Gia forbid….input! Arrogant bastard's!

"OH STOP WHINING…WHAT WE DID WAS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"

His eldest demon sounded tired.

"YOU DO FEEL BETTER…DON'T YOU?"

For that matter, Chaos wasn't the only one who felt a little drained. Vincent realized that his hand was shaking as he gently prodded where the worst of his injuries had been. The broken ribs, bruising, and burn of internal damage had been reduced to dull ache's and his lesser wounds had been stitched and bound. The ex-Turk shakily tried to pull the covers back so he could look, only to be stopped by his overbearing tenant.

"BE STILL…AND BE QUIET….BOTH ABRAHAM AND YOURSELF NEED SOME SERIOUS REST!"

Here the demon turned Vincent's head so that he could see Abraham slumped in a high backed wingchair placed beside his bed. The old Were was fast asleep.

The gunman relaxed a little and Chaos let his head flop back onto the pillows. He could not stop the anxiety that twisted in his guts.

"Mother Gia…Chaos how long have I been out? If that really was Duprey that Reno saw…we have got to find Yuffie and Ice!" (While there is still something left to rescue!)

He did not broadcast the last part of this thought, but he was pretty sure the dark one picked up on it.

The demon was a soft presence in his head,

"YES…I AGREE…WE NEED TO FIND THEM. BUT, YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN UNDER A FEW HOURS. THE STRENGTH OF THIS STORM IS STILL AT IT'S PEAK. THERE WILL BE NO GOING OUT INTO IT FOR A LONG WHILE YET. EVEN IF IT WERE TO LET UP…YOUR/OUR STRENGTH IS SPENT FOR THE TIME BEING. THE TYPE OF HEALING THAT THE OLD WOLF USED ON YOU IS A LOT LIKE THAT WHICH YOUR DEAD HALF CETRA FRIEND USED TO DO. HE USED NO MATERIA, DRAWING INSTEAD ON YOUR STRENGTH, HIS OWN RESERVES,…AND…PURE LIFESTREAM ENERGY GAINED DIRECTLY FROM GIA."

"That's….impossible?"

"HMPH… WELL…FOR A HUMAN…YES. BUT, ABRAHAM IS MOST DEFINITLY NOT HUMAN. SOMEHOW… HE WAS ABLE TO USE HIS BODY TO BUFFER, AND DIRECT THE EARTH'S ENERGY, WHILE BOOSTING WHAT RESERVES YOU/WE HAVE, IN ORDER TO COAX YOUR BODY BACK INTO A SEMBLANCE OF HEALTH. WHAT HE AND GRIFFIN DID FOR WHISPER AND RENO PUT A SERIUOS HURT ON HIM. EVEN WITH MY PARTICIPATION, HEALING YOU…. PUSHED HIM WELL PAST HIS LIMITS."

Vincent silently turned his head so he could study the sleeping Patriarch. He agreed with his demon, the man looked totally spent. The ex-Turk could FEEL Galian's silent worry, as for the first time he could see evidence, in the thin skin's grey cast and the fine, drawn lines around eyes and mouth, of the ancient Were's advanced age.

Valentine was quiet as he sifted through some of the things that Abraham had said before his collapse. One fact was foremost in his mind.

"Did I hear correctly….Ice and her Siblings are Abraham's children?"

Chaos' answer was short. "YES!" The demon was holding back a lot more information…Valentine had been a Turk for a reason.

"Come on…I know for a FACT that you could NOT have worked with the man without pumping him for some information. Even if you won't admit it…we are ALOT alike."

He winced as he heard Galian snicker and he felt the dark one pounce. Ah shit…he had NOT meant to let THAT particular thought slip.

"I AM SOOOO GLAD TO HEAR YOU FINALLY ADMIT THAT!"

Vincent gave vent to a soft much put upon groan….

"I couldn't possibly get you to forget that I said that… could I?"

"FAT CHANCE! STILL… I DID GAIN QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION FROM THE OLD WOLF." The demon sounded a little indignant. "I DID NOT HAVE TO…PUMP….HIM…AS YOU ACCUSED! GIVE ME SOME CREDIT FOR HAVING A LITTLE CLASS! ABRAHAM WAS MORE THAN WILLING TO FILL IN A LOT OF THE GAPS THAT GALIAN HAS IN HIS MEMORY! I JUST…LISTENED… IN!"

"Oh…so you eavesdropped then…that is SOOO much classier than… pumping… him for info."

The gunslinger smirked as he felt his eldest demon squirm.

"SHUT UP…VALENTINE!"

Vincent slipped his good hand behind his head, pleased with the fact the he could now move with very little discomfort. He could tell by the cadence of Chaos' words that the demon would spill at any moment. Sure enough….

"YES…THE LITTER THAT HOJO ALTERED WAS ABRAHAM'S LAST. THE IRONY HERE IS…THAT SHINRA HAD CAPTURED EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO CREATE. HE JUST DID NOT KNOW IT. IF HOJO HAD JUST LET BE AND CONCENTRATED ON SUBVERTING AND TRAINING THE WEREWOLF PUPS HE HAD KIDNAPPED, HE WOULD HAVE HAD HIS PERFECT WARRIORS!

Vincent arched a brow and just waited. When he did not ask the expected question Chaos grumbled a little and not being able to stand himself…(Lets face it…the mighty being did have a little bit of a gossipy streak and he NEVER had any way to really let it out!) he continued.

"THE FAMILY…IT SEEMS… STARTED OUT AS A DECLINING RACE OF LONG LIVED, WOLVISH FOREST FOLK WHO WERE VERY ATTUNED TO MOTHER GIA, JUST AS THE CETRA WERE. WHEN THE GREAT CALAMITY FELL, THE CETRA WERE ILL EQUIPPED TO FIGHT HER. THEY WERE NOT A WARRIOR RACE. IN ORDER TO SAVE THEMSELVES AND THE PLANET…THE WOODS PEOPLE AGREED TO BE… ALTERED. THE CETRA AND THE PLANET MORPHED THEM INTO LIVING….WEAPONS. THEY FOUGHT ALONG SIDE THE CETRA IN ORDER TO DEFEAT JENOVA. WHEN THE BATTLE WAS OVER…THEY RETURNED TO THEIR FOREST WAYS, CONTENT TO WATCH AS THE CETRA DECLINED AND HUMANS BECAME THE DOMINANT RACE."

Here Valentine frowned and he again turned to watch the sleeping elder.

"That doesn't make sense. With what I have seen, if they wanted…and had moved soon enough…WE would not be the dominant race on Gia!"

The demon rumbled softly, pleased that he had finally gotten his Host to engage in the conversation.

" UM HUM…. RIGHTLY SO! BUT ABRAHAM'S GRANDFATHER, THE FOUNDING ALPHA OF THE FAMILY, REALIZED THAT THEY COULD NOT COMPETE WITH THE HUMAN RACE'S PROCREATION RATE. THEY LOST MANY IN THE WAR AGAINST JENOVA. THEY WERE AND STILL ARE VERY FEW IN NUMBERS. EVEN THOUGH THE FAMILY ARE LONG LIVED…OR MAYBE BECAUSE OF IT, THEIR BIRTHRATE IS VERY LOW WITH A HIGH INCIDENT OF LETHAL BIRTH DEFECTS. THE FIRST ONES KNEW THAT THEY HAD A BETTER CHANCE OF SURVIVING AS A RACE, AS SHADOWS…GHOSTS IN THE FOREST. OH…SOME WORD OF THEM GOT OUT EVERY NOW AND THEN, THIS WAS THE BASIS FOR YOUR WEREWOLF LEGENDS. STILL..DUE TO RIGID LAWS AND A HIERCHY SET IN STONE…PLUS THE CAREFUL PLACEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL…WATCHERS, SUCH AS GRIFFIN, THEY MANAGED TO REMAIN UNDISCOVERED UNTIL YOUR FATHER ROOTED THEM OUT WITH HIS RESEARCH. BEFORE THIS…THE FAMILY TOOK VERY LITTLE INTEREST IN THE POLITICS OF MAN. THE LOSS OF ABRAHAM'S SUCCESSOR AND HIS LIFEMATE DROVE HOME THE FACT THAT THEY COULD NOT AFFORD TO CONTINUE WITH THIS POLICY."

Ruby glinted in the dying firelight as the ex-Turk blinked. His weary body was demanding that he too should rest. Still, the gunman studied Abraham's aquiline features. Even at rest…there was untold strength in the strong bone structure and it was etched into every handsome line. How did the Alpha male do it? He could not IMAGINE the weight of the long borne responsibilities that were sitting on that sleeping man's shoulders. Long fingered, fine skinned hands twitched as some dream disturbed the old wolfs rest.

"He said he was weary…Chaos…weary in such a way that only you would understand. What did he mean?"

For a moment the demon was silent and then he very softly continued.

"WHEN ONE'S LIFE SPANS MILLENIA, JUST THE ACT OF CONTINUING ON CAN BECOME…TEDIOUS. YOU..UNFORTUNATELY…MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN.

ONLY ONE BLOOD SON OF ABRAHAM'S HAS HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME THE NEXT PATRIARCH. WHEN SHINRA "KILLED" GALIAN AND KIDNAPPED ABRAHAM'S MATE, THE PATRIARCH'S LINE OF SUCCESSION WAS BROKEN. I BELIEVE THAT HE AND HIS LOVE WERE LIFEBONDED. THE OLD WOLF WILL NOT TAKE ANOTHER MATE. INSTEAD OF JUST BEING ALLOWED TO FADE AWAY AS HE DESPERATELY WANTED TO AFTER HIS LOSS …ABRAHAM HAS BEEN FORCED TO EXTEND HIS EXISTENCE PAST WHAT HE FEELS IS BEARABLE. THE PATRIARCH CONTINUES ON BECAUSE HE HAS NO CHOICE…. THE FAMILY DEPENDS HEAVILY ON IT'S ALPHA'S LEADERSHIP, WITHOUT HIS BLOODED SON TO ASSUME HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, ABRAHAM KNOWS HIS PEOPLE WILL FINALLY FADE. THE OLD WOLF DESPERATELY WANTS TO …REST…. BUT THERE IS NOW NO ONE TO TAKE HIS PLACE."

The rough voice deepened and Chaos added this as almost an afterthought.

"IF ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR IS… AND WILL BE… LOST, AND THERE IS NO HOPE…WELL…EXISTENCE THEN BECOMES AN UNENDING TORTURE."

"But…Galian isn't…"

"DON'T GO THERE….I HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSING THE BEAST…HE DOES NOT NEED TO KNOW WHAT HIS DIMINISHMENT HAS CAUSED. THE OLD ONE LOVES HIS SON, BUT GALIAN IS SO DAMAGED THAT HIS RESURRECTION BRINGS ABRAHAM NO HOPE."

Mother Gia…Vincent bit his lips until he tasted the copper of blood, trying not to scream….Mother FUCKING Gia….he could not even blame Hojo for this one…ALL of this, EVERYTHING traced back to his father! Grimiore had set this in motion…when Abraham finally exhausted his every resource and gave up, the Valentine bloodline would have helped to create, not a litter but a whole RACE of doomed orphans. They would have succeeded at genocide where Shinra had failed. GODS…. Would this litany of sins ever cease?!

A cool hand grasped his chin.

"STOP!"

The Patriarch's voice was layered with the thunder of dominance.

It was like a reflex he could not control…the gunman instantly relaxed his jaw, removing his sharp teeth from the soft flesh they were clamped into. DAMN…that reflexive obedience could become a serious problem! It was a shame the Alpha could not control his thoughts as thoroughly…the gunman's mind continued to scream no…no…no…, writhing in its' guilt at the undeniable fact that there was no penance that could atone for this heinous sin. Even with Chaos trying to shut it down, the man's mind was ripping his sanity to shreds. Frantic crimson eyes flashed open only to be pinned and held by calm steel that heated up with a molten glow as one long fingered hand stroked through the raven hair. Chaos stepped out of the way, being sure to block ALL internal escape routes, as this time, when Abraham exerted his dominance, it was gentle but inexorable.

"Sleep…."

* * *

The Patriarch had been yanked out of a restful sleep by the scent of pain and blood, plus the oddly muffled keen that had made it passed his suppose to be sleeping ward's bitten lips. The crimson gaze that he managed to catch and hold was so filled with mental anguish that the Valet reacted out of instinct, drawing on reserves that were all but spent.. His son's Host was a mere breath away from breaking. Thankfully, those black lashed lids fluttered shut and the lean body relaxed into sleep at his command. His strong fingers remained entangled in the tormented man's silky hair as Abraham pulled his own sleep muddled wits together.

"What in the nine HELLS caused that?"

He really did not expect an answer to the softly murmured question and could not control his slight flinch when hot golden eyes opened and the head under his hand turned. Abraham was a strong and ancient being…BUT….the one that looked out at him from Valentine's eyes was by far the elder.

"THAT…..WAS MY FAULT. THIS WHOLE SITUATION HAS PUT A REAL STRAIN ON VINCENT'S ..UMMM…STABILITY AND I MAY HAVE UNWITTINGLY PUSHED HIM OUT OF THE VERY FRAGILE MENTAL BALANCE THAT HE MANAGES TO MAINTAIN."

Abraham just held the demon's gaze and one grizzled brow quirked up in question.

Chaos growled softly.

"MOTHER GIA….IS THAT GENETIC?"

The elderly Werewolf poured himself a little cognac and settled back into his chair. His response was short, to the point and oddly…. familiar…..

"Explain…"

"HA….AND VALENTINE THINKS HE GETS ALL OF HIS WEIRD LITTLE QUIRKS FROM ME!"

Abraham had seen and experienced much in his very long life but the tale that this ancient lord laid at his feet had him shaking with sorrow and rage by the time the deep voice ground to a halt. The old wolf said nothing for a very long time. The fact that Valentine's father had brought all of this to pass was not news to him. Abraham had learned a hard lesson and it had taken him time, but he now had his ways of receiving information as to what was going on in the human world. The Turk's were NOT alone!

The Patriarch sipped his liquor as he turned the facts over in his mind. Even though the protocols for adding a member to the Family were rigid and many criteria had to be met…the Alpha still had been pressed on several occasions to euthanize a True Changeling who had been "broken" by the stress brought upon their minds by the Change. Not all could cope with suddenly not being entirely human. The ancient wolf was very aware as to what anger, hate, torture and most of all, what GUILT could do to the fragile human psyche. Add having several other personalities unwillingly grafted into your mind and …well… it was a wonder this fragmented man could function at all!

Abraham sighed and looked up only to find that disconcerting amber gaze intently watching how he had folded one arm over the other, and one hand drummed a soft rhythm as he was thinking. His restless fingers quit their tapping as the demon hastily wiped the slight smirk off of Valentine's sleeping mouth.

"Will the boy be okay…?"

"HMPH…THE BOY… HASN'T BEEN OKAY FOR A VERY LONG WHILE…BUT THROUGH HIS DREAMS, I CAN PROBABLY BRING VINCENT'S MENTAL BALANCE BACK TO SOME KIND OF EQUILIBRIUM."

Abraham finished his drink and nodded thoughtfully,

"I hope that you can,…we are going to need ALL that he is before this is finished."

As the Chaos glow dimmed and Valentine's thick lashed lids closed, the Old Wolf also settled back, hoping to regain some peace so he could rest a little more before they were needed down in the lab.

* * *

As a vet tech Marion had done her share of all-nighters…but never had she been this exhausted. The woman did not know how much time had passed since they were brought to this house of horrors but she estimated it at maybe twenty four hours. She had been with Ice most of this time…monitoring the recovering female's condition. It had been a very tough shift as Ice had not looked at her once the whole time. The Vet did not blame the grieving mother….the Doctor had washed her hands so often they were raw…but still felt she could not get the little kit's innocent blood off of them. Marion had been absurdly grateful, when she and Ice were returned to their cell…even those thin pads looked good when you were this tired. Marion did not blame the grieving Ice when the female would not even look in her direction as she crawled under her pad. Of Yuffie…there was no sign, although a small amount of blood on her designated pad showed that she had been here.

It seemed that Marian had just sunk into oblivion when hard hands clamped a cruel grip on the back of her neck. The struggling woman was just getting her wits about her when Titan practically threw her back into the lab. When the Vet saw Duprey….he gave her a grim smile…

"Just for future reference…it is NOT a good idea to piss Angel off! Oh well…." the burly man shrugged and casually started unbuttoning his lab coat…. "Your fuck (oh… pardon the pun…hehehe) up is my….pleasure!"

The coat was folded neatly and set on a chair. Blunt fingers dropped to release the man's belt.

Marion turned to run…right into Titan's massive form. The big male's hand encircled her throat, closing off her air. Her kicks and struggles made no impression and as her vision faded she heard the scientist murmur…

"Now Titan…don't damage her throat…we WANT to be able to hear her scream!"

When the young woman managed to clear her senses a little she found herself straddling a chair AND Duprey's naked lap. Her feet has been tied to the legs of the chair. Her arms were drawn around the scientist's heavy muscled body in a parody of a passionate embrace and her hands were tightly secured to the chair's back. There were several I.V.'s inserted in her inner forearm and the Vet had a serious panic attack when she recognized the drugs being dripped into her veins. One was to treat shock….one was to counteract blood loss and the other was a stimulant. With THAT particular combination there would be no escape by passing out.

Mother Gia! Marion struggled against her bonds, drawing a purr of pleasure from the sadistic bastard under her as her movements rubbed her buttocks against his thighs and ground her pelvis foreword, squeezing his eager flesh between them. A flicker of movement caught her eye and the Vet tried to pull her hands and feet clean OFF as she saw the thin lashed whip that Titan carried. The beast was watching her struggle, avid lust reflected through his yellow gaze as his talon-ed fingers twitched on that wicked looking lash. The woman had little time to anticipate as the man tightened his fingers in her hair and thickly growled….

"You know when…. Titan."

Bernard forced her head forward and he crushed hard lips to hers. Marion instinctively resisted, locking her mouth closed in order to keep his intruding tongue out. but as the first sharp cut of the thin whip that the Black wielded sliced across her unprotected back, her lips jerked open in shock allowing the man entrance. As the whip hissed and fell, cutting an intricate pattern into her thin skin, Duprey stroked the twitching, writhing body with his free hand and eagerly drank the struggling woman's screams.

Marion did not know how long this went on but when the sharp crack of the lash …quit….bright blood was streaking down her sides and both her and Duprey's legs were crimson with it. Ruby also slicked up the friction between their bellies as the scientist had marred the white flesh of her neck and breasts with deep bite wounds. Still…the man had not finished his torture. Marion had known when she hit the room that she was going to get raped. As she sucked in great sobbing breaths she felt a moments hope as the small form of Angelique appeared and began loosening the bonds on her hands.

"Tsk…tsk…my dear… this looks terribly uncomfortable."

Her feet were released next and the grandmotherly woman smiled as she helped Duprey turn the shaking victim's body on his lap.

Marion arched and moaned as the man ran a hot tongue over and into one of the whip scores that had been opened on her back. The scientist murmured….."sweet…" as his fingers traced down the bloody welts, re-awakening a path of fire. Those same bloody fingers slipped down to explore between the cheeks of her ass and Marion could not stop her sobs as Angel brought her bruised wrists up and rebound them behind the seated researcher's neck.

The Vet came from a very rough part of the city and she had done what she could in her mind to prepare herself for this sick brute's ultimate intrusion. She was NOT prepared when Angelique loaded her fingers with lube and slipped her slender hand between the trapped captive's trembling thighs. The older woman brushed the soft nether lips and then went on to the entrance that Bernard was stroking. Marion had managed not to beg up until now. As one of the man's coarse fingers pushed painfully into her she could not stop her scream as she frantically shook her head…

"Please…NO…don't…PLEASE!"

Angel patted her thigh and again brushed her on the way out with blood and lube slicked fingers.

"Now…now… specimen M…Duprey has no choice…WE are saving THAT for something…special."

The old woman took the whip from Titan…

"You should NEVER have crossed me dear…"

The great black grinned wickedly, exposing knife like fangs. Warm breath brushed Marion's cold sweat covered face as the beast's powerful hands slid under her rump and Titan lifted her so that Duprey could position himself under her. The Vet's world very quickly narrowed down to one of unrelenting agony and throat tearing screams.

By the time Duprey reached his shuddering climax, Marion thought she had no voice left. She could only moan as she was untied, then ruthlessly lifted off of her torturer's softening length. When they strapped her to a heavy exam table she only had the strength to whimper as it pressed against her ravaged back. The world was spinning and the Vet knew that she was suffering from serious blood loss. The stabbing agony in her lower belly told the physician in her that she was badly damaged internally and a part of her prayed that they would just let her die. The blood coated Duprey strapped her hands and feet down, spreading her wide. Marion squirmed weakly ignoring the fire in her back as she sobbed hysterically.

"No more…please… n-n-n-o more!" The little Vet jerked and her eyes widened in surprise as the warmth of a Cure flowed through her.

"There, there dear….all better I think? Hmmm? We wouldn't want any open wounds when your chosen suitor arrives. Shhh…. Shhh…it's okay….Bernard is done with you."

Marion could not stop her tears…. then she bit her lips as Angel again stroked her trembling leg, her hand parting soft petal lips to apply a liberal amount of lubricant. The researcher gave her victim a very nasty smile.

"I promised I would not give you to Titan…" Marion moaned in relief as Duprey and that great beast left the lab. Dr. Destinie lightly patted the nearest tear and blood streaked cheek.

"BUT….I never said anything about NOT giving you to Shadow!"

The "good" Doctor forcibly turned her head so she could watch and Marion found out that…. YES…she could still scream as the OTHER black brother stalked into the room.

* * *

Griffin was checking Whisper's vitals when a soft moan from the other bed drew his attention. As he hurried over he caught the flash of glazed green as the Turk tried to drag himself up to consciousness. The wounded man was aware enough that he snarled when he realized that his wrist's were still restrained.

"Yo…Whisper…Rude….Hnnn….anyone?"

The bartender moved around to where the red head could see him.

"I am here… Reno…do you need something for the pain?"

Reno turned his head slightly

"…Hmmmm…naw," One long finger twitched towards his legs. "Guess tha was pretty bad…can't feel em!"

Before the Were could formulate an answer the pale face shifted and arched back a little…. looking….

"Man…Whisper?"

Griffin patted the trapped hand.

"Whisper is still with us. Because of his youth we cannot HEAL him as we are doing with you…but….he is holding his own so far."

Thin blue shadowed lids covered the green and a single tear followed the path of one red tattoo. A wry smile twisted the Turk's pale lips and he slitted one eye to slyly study his tender.

"YO….bartender…surgeon?" A red brow shot up.

Griffin could not stop the smile that twitched his tired mouth up, the redhead was incorrigible!

"Hey…when one lives almost forever…you tend to find THINGS to do that interest you. Lets just say my tastes are…varied."

This was received by a soft snort, the man's small smile was replaced by a slight grimace.

"DAMN…yo bartender…it is HOT in here. I could use a drink!"

Reno had closed his eyes again and he did not see as Griffin subtly sniffed…it was not infection that was driving the Turk's temp up. The Second made a bee line for the in-house intercom.

"Abraham….you are needed down in the labs."

* * *

Again I apologize for taking out almost the entire scene between Duprey and Marion...there was just no way to edit the rape scene and stay with in this sites limits.


	36. Chapter 36

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFIIV world and its characters. I am just playing with them for a while. I, on the other hand Own the rights to the original parts of this story and my original characters. Please do not use them without my permission. I make no profit from this story...so feedback is my only reward...hint...hint.

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 36

Tseng savagely stepped on the desire to rip his hair out by the roots. As he read the reports on the out of commission and deceased, he did give into the impulse enough to rasp his fingers through it instead, making a mess of his usually neat and tidy style. He had just KNOWN that the elderly Dr. Destinie was more than she let on. You could not be in this business for as long as he had and NOT develop an instinct about such things. That bitch and her friggin home made cookies! Angelique (angel my ASS!) had systematically poisoned everyone that she had been kindly feeding her cookies to. They had dead and dying people all the way from the research and security staff, up to and including casualties amongst the Turk rookies. Damn it! They should KNOW better…his already decimated ranks could not handle any more losses at this time.

Mother Gia! They were down to a skeletal staff! He did not NEED to hear that Reno was out of action and that Rude was trapped somewhere in Neibelhiem by the weather. Valentine, of all people, had called and given him a remarkably concise report on the attack at the mansion. The demon ridden man had been with Reno at the time and was concerned as to the extent of the downed man's spinal injury, this was secondary to the fact that Reno had been badly bitten by a Troop male. He had assured Tseng that he would have the injured Turk update when he was able.

The man at the desk did not miss the undercurrent that ran through the ex-Turk's soft voice. Valentine was not sure that the bitten man WOULD be able to report. What wasn't said was almost as important as what was….Vincent would take care of it, if the red head's "condition" went south.

That had been over twenty four hours ago and Tseng had heard NOTHING since. Rude was evidently in an area with no service and Valentine was not answering his phone! The quiet man carefully stacked his papers, he had a tactical meeting with Rufus. He really had nothing but bad news to report. The storm prevented any type of travel to or from Neibelhiem, they would not be able to begin search and rescue operations there until they got a window in the weather that permitted them to fly.

* * *

Shadow listened to the young woman's ordeal from his cell. The male had been given his orders and they did not rest easy with him. Oh, it was not the fact that he was expected to "take" an unwilling female…the black had seen the captive woman perform surgery on Ice and he had the heard the little one's soft squeak as it was terminated by Angel. It did not matter that the woman was now an unwilling specimen….she was also a whitecoat. This made her fair game as far as the beast was concerned.

The crack of the whip quit for a few minutes and then after some soft sobbing, the woman started to plead with her torturers. There was a moments quiet and then Duprey's rumbling groans of pleasure mixed with a rising keen. The renewed snap of the whip was just about drowned out by the female's wrenching screams of horror and pure agony.

Shadow's thin lips lifted in a savage grin as the captive scientist was broken. He had witnessed the two males working together before and he could picture exactly what Duprey and Titan were doing. He KNEW what rape was when it came to humans, and USUALLY he would have no interest in slaking his appetites as Duprey and Titan did. He would have NO problem making an exception in this case!

No, mounting a female…Doctor…would not bother him. It was the "stipulations" as to HOW he was to breed the female that had him pacing nervously with his mane ruffed out in pent up aggression. As his cell opened and he prowled towards the lab, the male boomed his displeasure…he had no choice…Duprey's threat of castration would insure his obedience in this case where the pain of the slave collar would not.

The sweet coppery smell of blood was the first thing that Shadow noticed when he stalked into the lab. His nostrils twitched, taking in the subtle nuances of pain, fear and sex that swirled through the air. Wound into this heady mix was a spicy scent that ignited his brain and set fire to his maleness. So intoxicating was the rich miasma that the male did not even notice the bound woman's screams. His massive wedge shaped head DID turn as Dr. Destinie walked past him…she carried a whiff of that intoxicating scent with her…then his cold golden eyes returned to the struggling form of the captive researcher strapped to the exam table…THAT is where that…delicious… attractant was strongest.

The woman choked on her screams, then became oddly silent as Shadow reached her. Moving with a grace and speed which belied his size, the male jumped up onto the re-enforced table. Powerful hands and feet straddled the small, white body as his sensitive nose ghosted over soft ,blood streaked skin. That skin had been savagely whip scored. The use of a Cure had closed all of the open wounds, but red lines and welts still caused it to shiver and twitch as the tip of his hot tongue flicked out occasionally, tasting fear and the residual pain as the scientist's sweat mixed with sweet crimson. There. There…and oh YES…. THERE..! The long muzzle pushed between those wide spread, pinioned legs. It was ALL Shadow could do to NOT bury his tongue in those sweet lips. (Getting a taste was NOT worth loosing his balls over!) The female smelled as if she were in full heat!

A softly moaned "Oh Gods…no!" jerked the massive head up and gleaming golden eyes narrowed as the male tilted it to look between his arms, down the length of the body he straddled. He had turned in order to nuzzle into that small thatch of curled hair, and the woman was confronted with the sight of his fully engorged (lets face it…the captive Doctor smelled wonderful!) sex. In this form….even Ghost…the omega male of the Troop was much better…endowed… than a human male. An evil smile twisted Shadow's lips as the whitecoat jerked at her restraints, bruising her wrists and ankles all the more. GOOD…let the bitch wallow in pain and fear like the Troop had for decades! The big male turned and seated his hot rump across the woman's hips effectively pinning her down with his great weight. She whimpered a little as he did this, he could imagine that the internal injuries caused by Duprey's brutal sodomy...although relatively healed…. were probably still very painful. The black straightened up, giving her a good solid view of a dominant male in his full glory (let her IMAGINE what that would feel like inside her!) and then opened his mouth in a threatening gape as he let his weight settle a little. The woman gasped and tried to shift under him…

"Please….don't…."

Shadow leaned forwards, resting a large hand on either side of her weakly thrashing head. Massive jaws dipped and with powerful fingers immobilizing her face, the male delicately licked where Angel's hand had been on the soft cheek. Ummmmm, whatever the twisted researcher had put on this female TASTED as good as it smelled. He nuzzled the odd rounded ear,

"Please…don't…. WHAT? Hurt you? Like pleading EVER worked with you whitecoats!"

The captive jerked under him,

"I NEVER…."

Her untruth was stopped by his enraged boom.

"Do NOT lie…I KNOW what you did to Ice…!"

Shadow's angry gaze was inches from hers' and his hot golden eyes flew wide as the Doctor's face crumpled. There was no cruelty, satisfaction or even fear reflected out of those rather attractive green and gold eyes. No, as the woman tried to turn her face away from him, all he saw was a deep sorrow and soul crushing guilt. The pure misery and self loathing that laced her next whispered words had the beast's delicate ears flattening and his mane sucking in.

"Yes….I did…..I…didn't WANT….ah hell," The body under him shook with soft… defeated… sobs. "This is exactly what I deserve!"

Shadow lifted some of his weight off of her trembling form. He did not allow the female to turn away, he wanted to see her expression when/if she answered.

"Why…?"

Tears slipped down her cheeks, wetting his rough fingers.

"I was afraid….Dr. Destinie w-w-w-would have attempted it with or without my h-h-help and would have purposely hurt Ice all the more."

The little woman gave a pathetic snort of sarcastic laughter as she tried to shift under his weight again.

"Angel p-p-romised if I did as they asked they wouldn't give me to T….Titan! I d-d-idn't ….Poor k-k-it…." The scientist was quietly crying as she closed her eyes tight. "Go ahead….d-d-do it! I might as well be as much a m-m- onster on the outs-s-side as I feel on the in."

Shadow blinked in confusion…this was NOT what he had expected! The male eased his weight up, wincing a little at the woman's quiet moan. The arousing scent still swirled around her and it was keeping his body pumped up and primed to breed. Still… without the anger to fuel him, the beast found he did not WANT to hurt the whitecoat. SHE was not the one responsible for the painful past. Gold eyes flicked to the glass window of the lab…sure enough, they were being watched. One finger reached out and carefully stroked across one of the long raised welts that marred the soft skin. He had no choice in this, it was better that the female be bred by him rather than his cruel brother. Shadow leaned forwards and his strong tongue cleaned the tears from her eyes. Her lashes fluttered as his warm breath tickled them.

"Little whitecoat…look at me."

Her odd colored eyes flashed open and Shadow hummed softly at the panic he saw there. The least he could do for her was ease her fears a little.

Holding her attention, the beast triggered his Change.

* * *

Marion kept her eyes firmly shut as the great beast eased his weight off of her. She could not completely stifle her moan as her bruised insides protested. GODS…the male was huge…Sharp teeth bit into already abused soft lips as the woman tried to keep from screaming in anticipation of the agony she knew was to come. The researcher had seen dominant male primates mount a female. They were not known to be gentle. Marion knew that this was going to be as bad as Duprey in its' own way and in this form, Shadow would be her death! There was no hope that the beast would not be able to carry out his task. The fact that he had become erect the minute he smelled and tasted her told the scientist all that she needed to know. Angelique had mixed some kind of pheromones in that lubricant. Shadow was reacting as if she were in dead heat. At least it would all be over for her in a few hours. The Vet was pretty sure that the monstrous changelings had no awareness of what they once were. Of course, knowing this did not help her state of mind, here and now.

The Vet flinched when instead of the painful intrusion she was expecting, a warm, rough tongue swiped over her closed eyes. She opened them when Shadow demanded it not out of obedience but with a spark of anger.

Whitecoat!…Ice and Whisper had called her that at one time! Here… she was just specimen M. Damn it… she HAD a name! Marion opened her mouth to protest and froze as the body straddling her…. Changed.

* * *

Whisper drifted in a world of pain and sorrow. ALL of his insides burned as his body tried to heal and was impeded by silver poisoning. Each breath that was forced down his throat, sent a bolt of agony through his shattered chest. The helpless male was aware enough to know that a machine was doing his breathing for him. This created real panic in his mind. The only place he could be was a med lab. With the situation being what it was when he had blacked out, that meant he was in Duprey and THAT woman's hands. (oh yes…he REMEMBERED those two!) If left to his own devices, the white would have just quit pulling in life giving air…it wasn't worth it! Whisper made a supreme effort and dragged himself towards that world of fear and pain. Blunt fingers twitched, as he tried to demand that they reach up and pull out the damned tube that was irritating his throat…oh yes…. and keeping him alive. He could not lift his hands…he was being restrained…even his tail was immobilized. There was movement and the male could feel several people moving around where he lay. He cringed as hands touched him. Whisper pulled weakly at his bonds, fear and pain making his heart rate skyrocket, the beats becoming more erratic as he thrashed. GODS….he prayed that Shadow had killed Reno…because if the man were here…Whisper could not help him!

* * *

Long, thick, sooty lashes obscured deep amber as Shadow blinked. Marion just stared in shock. Mother Gia…if she had passed this man on the street, the woman knew she probably would have broken her neck trying to get a second look. The Vet had not seen Ice in her completely human form and Whisper seemed unable to push his transformation to totally human. This male, did NOT have this problem. The face that gazed intently back at her looked completely human right down to the ears that were well shaped with just a slight point. Thick, slightly wavy black hair, framed a face graced with a sculpted bone structure. Where Whisper had an almost delicate eldritch beauty, this male was very masculine. Broad high cheeks dropped in a straight plane to a wide, strong jaw. Thick black brows slanted up over those intense eyes which were wide spaced over a straight, slightly broad nose.

Shadow shifted slightly, drawing the scientist's attention unwillingly down that chiseled body. Powerful arms supported broad shoulders and a wide heavy chest, no fur there… but a glorious amount of curly black hair glistened across it in the light. That soft matt created a trail down tight abs and nestled between muscular thighs…Oh Gods….even as a man… THAT was intimidating! Oh …Oh… Oh…this SUCKED! Marion would have been VERY attracted to the male under different circumstances, but knowing he was going to force her, all she felt was a sickening anticipation of pain mixed with fear. The woman could not stop herself, she sucked in a frightened breath as Shadow shifted a strong thigh between shaking legs and settled back over her, easing himself to the side so that his weight wasn't resting directly on her sore midsection. Marion did NOT miss out on the fact that this gave the male open access to explore her trapped body, and also to squeeze his erection between her hip and his flat. hard belly. Shadow rumbled softly as he gave an odd roll of his hips evidently enjoying the friction. The were's heat enveloped her as he ran one large hand down her ribcage and the other cupped behind the back of her neck, immobilizing her head as teeth and tongue mapped out her ear.

A shudder ran over the Vet's petite frame at her body's reaction as those soft lips worked over her defenseless throat only to settle on her mouth, alternately nibbling and then licking with a warm, slightly rough tongue. Marion jerked at her restraints, mortified as at the same time, gentle fingers stroked across a breast coaxing a nipple into eager hardness.

"No… No… No….!"

Marion could not stop herself from begging….After what had just happened with Duprey… this just wasn't fair. …The Vet had made a study of primates and human anatomy had been a part of it.…she knew all about the nervous systems automatic responses to stimulation. Still, it felt like the ultimate betrayal to have her body warming up to something that her mind found abhorrent. The woman felt Shadow sigh against her mouth as she tightened her jaw and fought the restraints hard enough to draw blood. Bright gold dimmed as his inner eyelids flicked and the were pulled away a little. The hand stroking her breast traveled down to flatten lightly on her lower belly. He pressed carefully in a couple of places drawing a hiss from her as her bruised insides protested. That unwanted hand traveled lower still, causing the Vet to tense up as finger tips brushed through her curls and delicately touched the junction of her spread legs. Those full lips tightened into a thin line as Shadow released her neck and traced the path of a tear with one blunt finger.

"I am sorry. I know that your mind is unwilling, BUT…I must ask you to try and relax."

The male winced as Marion pinned him with a narrow eyed, venomous, indignant glare. Shadow lightly brushed a strong thumb over her soft, tightly closed lips, fingertips lingering for a moment where Duprey had bruised them.

"Hmmm…it is not my intent to seem insensitive to your situation. It is just a fact that I… like you… have no choice in this. It will hurt you a lot less if at the least, I can coax your… body… into accepting me.

A hard finger came up and tapped lightly on Marion's forehead.

"You human's think to much….close your eyes, and let your intellect go…elsewhere. Set your inner beast free and allow it to react instinctively to what I am doing. This is what coming into heat does for Troop females."

The woman found herself held captive by the…man's…amber gaze. She could not find the cold intelligence mixed with hot animal lust that had been there just moments ago. Desire still heated the gold (Angel's…application… had seen to that!) but when his other hand lightly brushed the Healed, but still painful area…between…that had been torn and bruised by Duprey's brutality, there was also compassion. Which… was overridden by pain as Shadow's body jerked, his soft whine muffled by tightly clamped lips. Green materia flashed in the ornate collar that was embedded in the flesh around his muscular neck, and Marion suddenly realized how Duprey was controlling the powerful male. An intercom crackled to life.

"Get a move on Shadow…I haven't got all day!"

Marion could not help but jump, just the sound of Duprey's voice made her want to crawl away to a dark corner! She turned her head to look at the lab's glass window. Ah…it stood to reason that the sick bastard (and bitch!) would be watching! Shadow growled softly bringing her attention back to him.

"Forget them! There is just you and me here…"

Marion could see the apology in Shadow's eyes as that handsome face dipped. His hot mouth again brushed her ear and there were words mixed into the rumble.

"Do not worry about becoming a monster…I am doing for you what Whisper did for the fiery one."

RENO!…he was talking about Reno….maybe….? His mouth closed over hers before she could say anything, but his lips moved in a smile as she forced herself to relax and allowed him to coax her lips apart. The woman worked very hard at keeping her mind blank as he thoroughly explored the inside of her mouth with that very strong tongue. Well… at least she tried to! (Damn it…she was a scientist…she could do this!) …. The totally inappropriate thought of… OH MY GODS, someone has taught this boy the fine art of kissing… kept pushing its way to the forefront. The usually calm, cool, and collected scientist found that she was breathless by the time Shadow was satisfied with his tasting of her.

Marion refused to close her eyes. She continued to watch as he shifted his attention to her body. The hot mouth worked along her collarbones and her body instinctively arched as lips nibbled and teeth lightly scraped along skin made hyper sensitive by the whipping it had received. Hers' was not the only skin that carried the marks of abuse. Contrasting thin lines of creamy mocha crisscrossed Shadow's ebony, creating a rather stunning pattern. The researcher in Marion recognized the similarities to the silvery scars that Valentine carried. Gods…. What she was enduring paled in comparison to what this male had survived. Like HELL if she were going to give Angel and Duprey any more pleasure from her fear and pain or from forcing the male to do something he found…distasteful!

The scientist did not even try to suppress the soft moan that worked its' way out of her as gentle fingers stroked along the juncture of her inner thigh. Marion got some satisfaction as those golden eyes flicked up, widened a little at her slight nod…. And …uh oh…soft amber was suddenly lit by flame. Something that had been tight and pained…relaxed in the beautiful visage, and something entirely different took its' place. Oh SHIT….Shadow's lips lifted in a rather wicked smile and his head dropped, tracing a fiery path down her suddenly tense stomach. Marion sucked in a startled breath as that incredible tongue replaced the fingers. It was the last full breath she took for quite some time!

* * *

Vincent awoke to the concerned grey gaze of Abraham and his eldest demon quite literally sitting on his psyche. It took the ex-Turk a couple of seconds to orientate himself. He remembered losing his mental balance and starting that terrifying slide towards insanity, then nothing but a series of odd dreams. He had a feeling that Chaos had been stirring things around in his head, but did not complain as it seemed to have helped him regain his equilibrium. The gunman grumbled at his demon to back off, he was fine…. and tried to sit up. Only to be stopped by his other caretaker…crimson blinked as the Patriarch's mercurial eye's took on a slight glow.

"We are needed down in the lab…are you up to it?"

This was a very polite way for the old man to ask if he was still playing with a full deck. Not wanting to get arbitrarily shoved back into the depths of sleep…the ex-Turk relaxed and just nodded. Then was totally insulted when Abraham went over his head.

"Chaos…?"

Vincent almost fought as the demon took temporary control…but stopped himself realizing he had no chance against his two mother hens.

"HMMMM…. THE HOST IS BACK TO HIS NORMAL STATE OF BALANCE (WHICH ISN'T SAYING MUCH!)."

This last was directed at Vincent alone.

The gunman watched as the molten look faded to grey. The old man nodded in satisfaction.

"Good…" One hand gestured eloquently towards a change of clothes that was laid on the chair. Damn….the gunman had to step down hard on the impulse to jump and obey. Then he changed his mind and did hurry to sit up at the Were's next words.

"Haste is needed, Reno is approaching saturation."

The gunman didn't have time to get apprehensive when they walked into the lab. Medical alarms filled the air with their strident beeps and Griffin was working with controlled haste, trying to calm a thrashing, delirious Whisper. The bartender looked up with almost panic in his dark eyes.

"Mother Gia.. Abraham… if he doesn't stop, he is going to tear up everything we put back together."

Vincent started forwards intending on giving them a hand holding the injured were down. Evidently the little trick the Patriarch had pulled on him could not be used on the young male. A hissing desperate voice stopped him in his tracks.

"YO…Val…get me OVER there!"

Reno's voice was hoarse and his red tattoos stood starkly out against his white, sweating skin. The Turk pulled hard against his own wrist restraints.

Griffin's attention jerked away from his struggling patient.

"NO…you have to keep still! To much movement and you take the risk that your spine will never heal."

Fever bright green glared at the ex-Turk as he froze in indecision.

"Gods be damned, Vince…once a Turk ALWAYS a Turk, I am asking as a brother, GET ME OVER THERE!"

The green flared to bright blue as Reno's Mako kicked in. The man was now twisting against his bonds with enough strength to break bones. The alarms reached a new level, Whisper's racing heartbeat becoming erratic and thready. The gunman could hear Griffin softly chanting

"...shit, shit, shit…NO Abraham…that'll kill him for sure!"

"VALENTINE…ABRAHAM IS DESPERATE ENOUGH TO TRY A CURE…IF YOU DON'T MOVE, WHISPER…WILL…DIE!"

Chaos was leaving the decision to him, but the gunman could feel the ancient being's concern.

"FUCK…Please Vincent…"

Reno sagged helpless in his bed…

"If you have EVER in your screwed up life loved someone…please…!"

Memories flashed through the ex-Turk's mind, he HAD loved and the feeling of helplessness as she died while he lay trapped and helpless under Hojo's control would NEVER leave him. He didn't even think as gold flashed and the restraints were cut.

Valentine did try to jostle the redhead as little as possible as he cradled the lanky body and knelt so that Reno could reach the failing white.

Reno buried his hand in that creamy mane and pulled against Vincent until the man moved him close enough that his lips brushed one shell like ear.

"YO…big guy…ya gotta calm down. Shhhhh…. be still…everything's okay!"

The Turk's soft voice caught as the were continued to struggle, his movements becoming markedly weaker.

"Whisper, we are safe…these guys aren't whitecoats. One's a fricken bartender. The other…he's FAMILY!"

Vincent knew they were in trouble when Reno stiffened and then jerked in his arms.

"YO…Fuck!"

Was all the Turk managed to choke out as the virus in his blood reached its' saturation point….

* * *

The sound of the cell door opening pulled Yuffie out of a feverish nap. Honey eyes blinked as Shadow carried Marion in. She held totally still until the great beast set the woman down on shaky legs and then quietly left. The ninja got a great deal of satisfaction as her leap caught the little Vet by surprise and the woman hissed in pain as she was slammed down to the floor.

"You BITCH! I thought you liked Ice…How could you!"

Yuffie had been shaking the scientist but she made herself stop as Marion's glazed eyes rolled back. The simple shift that the woman was wearing opened a little and Yuffie jerked her hands back as she saw the welts and angry red marks that were only barely healed. As soon as she was released Marion curled herself into a little ball. The Vet did not make a sound but tears streamed in a constant flow down her pale face.

"Mother Gia….Marion…what happened?"

Careful hands lifted the thin cloth as the girl noted the blood, and other…things….that had streaked down Marion's back and more importantly…her legs. Surprisingly, the woman's front and between her legs had been scrupulously cleaned. Yuffie pulled back as there was a rustle of movement and Ice appeared next to her. Soft hands stroked the Vet and Yuffie was amazed at the gentleness in the golden female's touch as she examined between the woman's legs and carefully spread her buttocks to hiss in anger at the horrible bruising there. Marion flinched and wearily opened her eyes.

"_She lied… Angel gave you to Titan anyways…didn't she?"_

Marion bit her lips and shook her head.

"No…"

Ice lifted her hand and delicately sniffed…a slight frown marred her fine features as she also sniffed at the gore on the woman's legs. Her lips pulled back in a nasty snarl and an almost silent growl shook her. Marion gave a quiet cry and tried to curl into a tighter ball as those long fingered hands pressed lightly on her belly.

"_Duprey hurt you….and THEN gave you to Shadow?"_

Marion was sobbing softly as she brokenly described what Duprey and Angel had done to her. Ice shook her head, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as the woman hysterically insisted that she deserved it for hurting Ice and killing her baby. Yuffie had both hands around her muzzle as she stared at the abused scientist with wide, frightened eyes…Mother Gia! She was thanking the GODS that she was an infectious Changeling right at the moment. Ice hummed softly and shifted that little ball of Marion so that the woman was carefully cradled against her swollen belly. The remaining kits kicked and squirmed at the unfamiliar pressure. Ice's expressive hands effectively shut the scientist up.

"_Do you feel that, Marion? These three are still alive because of YOU! I am sorry! It is selfish... but I am thankful that you are here with me. You did NOT deserve this and I am terribly sorry that my brother hurt you…"_

The female laid down…not releasing her hold on the little Vet…one hand gestured for Yuffie to join them. As the Changeling folded herself around to envelope the scientist in a warm ball of Were, she caught an odd look of shame that flitted across the woman's tear streaked face.

Marion was already drifting into unconsciousness and may not have been aware as she softly murmured…"Beautiful….Shadow….ummm…s'not fair…. hurt…Oh Gods…..so good…!"

* * *

Vincent gritted his teeth as the body he held twisted and a muffled scream worked its' way past Reno's clamped lips. The gunman flinched at the appalling sensation of the man's bones and muscles shifting. The Turk's very shape was warping in his arms. Both Galian and Chaos helped to steady and strengthen him as the gunman held firm, doing his best to keep Reno from thrashing around as he Changed. The Turk's spine needed to be as still as possible to give his newly activated healing factor a chance at fusing it back together.

It did not take long but seemed forever before the metamorphosis was complete. The Troop male that Valentine ended up holding was wiry, and tall. Reno's red tattoos had morphed into a mask that, along with the feathery slanted russet brows, gave the long wedge shaped head a raffish look. His soft golden fur was patterned with large, red rosettes and the heavy mane was the color of living flame.

Vincent was aware that Abraham had come over to this side of the bed and that the albino were's form was ominously still, the ruby eyes glazed and partially open.

Green eyes flashed open…then blinked…Reno evidently remembered Yuffie's change because he spoke carefully.

"YO….Whisper….OH…!

This last was a startled exclamation as a red and gold patterned tail snaked up over the edge of the bed and nestled itself into the curved fingers of a limp, white hand. Reno's muzzle gaped in a huge, fang showing grin as those fingers slowly closed over the end. The monitors shrill alarms started to abate. The Turk sought out Vincent's impassive face.

"So…YO…what do I look like!"

Valentine knew it was mean but he couldn't help himself.

"You have freckles….all over your body"

The body in his arms jerked as Reno tried to get a good look at himself. Vincent felt a tug at his hip and twisted to see five long prehensile toes get a grip on his holster.

"FRECKLES!…Oh man….that SUCKS!"

There was a slight movement from the bed and both men turned to catch a flash of ruby as Whisper opened his inner eyelids. The white managed a pained, wistful smile around his breathing tube. The hand that wasn't full of tail moved through a hesitant dance.

"_Freckles….oh…I love freckles…." _

Then the white relaxed and slipped back into a more restful sleep.

The toes released Vincent's holster and then were held up as their owner wiggled them.

"Hey…I can feel my feet!"

Abraham smiled and lightly laid his hand on the Changeling's shoulder.

"So you can….now…I think you have had enough excitement for the time being. You need to follow Whisper's example and get some rest."

"Yo…."Reno tried to wiggle out of the gunslinger's arms, alarm in his wide eyes…"I feel great…don't need to…ah man…don't!"

The Patriarch's powerful fingers dug into the pressure points he had been looking for.…and dominance rumbled in his quiet voice. "Sleep…."

Both of Vincent's brows arched as the Turk sagged into unconsciousness almost instantly. Reno was going to LOVE that! The old man met his astonished crimson gaze as he guided the two back over so that the redhead could be deposited back on his bed. Abraham's smile was almost wicked as he tucked the blankets around the Changeling's sleeping form.

"Welcome… to The Family, son."

* * *

I write for the pleasure of it...I live for your reviews!


	37. Chapter 37

These next few chapters should be posted pretty quickly as I do not have to do much editing on them. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and it characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and to my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 37

Marion lowered herself gingerly onto the communal pad that they had made so that all of them could rest together. She felt Ice shift her swollen body so that the Vet could stiffly curl around her. The closeness provided comfort in a situation that was seriously lacking in this commodity. It also allowed the little doctor to keep a close eye on her companions. Careful hands stroked over the golden female's sides and the woman's bruised lips tightened a little as she traced each rib. Ice was having real difficulties swallowing the lab "Cookies" that they were provided with for their nutrition. Even when Marion soaked them in water she could only coax the depressed female into eating a very minimal amount. All three of them were losing weight but it was becoming an alarming situation with Ice. The pregnant Were's three remaining kits were draining a body that was not receiving enough calories to sustain them and itself.

Reaching over Ice, Marion ran her hands through her other bed companion's tangled chocolate mane. Gentle fingers engulfed one long, delicate, shell like ear, lingering for a moment at the metal tag that had been pierced through the tip. The Vet winced at the heat she felt radiating off of the sleeping ninja. Marion was getting very concerned about Yuffie. The researchers had been inoculating the Changeling with stem cells from Ice's baby for a week now. She wasn't sure what protocols Angel and Duprey were following, but the scientist in her could see that so far the results they were getting were not good. Yuffie spent most of the time (when she wasn't strapped to an exam table) huddled in a sick, feverish ball….and when the girl had found out were these injections were coming from…a sick, feverish, hysterical ball. It had taken both Ice and herself hours to calm the girl down after Duprey had cruelly told her that her injections were made from cells harvested from Ice's sacrificed kit. Yuffie still spent a large part of her coherent hours silently weeping.

The simple act of their cell being opened had three pairs of eyes springing open, and three bodies tightening around each other, seeking moral support. All three of the females watched as Shadow silently entered their cell to deliver their daily rations. Marion flinched, stifling a reflexive whimper, as one talon-ed finger beckoned her forward. NO…she wasn't due for her daily round with Duprey and then Shadow for a few hours yet! It wasn't much, but the woman's body (and mind) NEEDED all of the time it could get between the agonizing sessions to buffer itself against the sadistic researcher's brutality.

Angel always checked to see if she had kindled before giving her to Duprey and she always cast Cure when the man was done. Even with Shadow being as gentle as possible when he took her, after a full week of this abuse, her insides felt battered and bruised from the daily "attentions" that were being forced upon it.

The male's golden eyes watched impassively as the woman reluctantly got to her feet and shuffled over to him. The black turned a little as she approached him, and the end of Shadow's long prehensile tail curved around to disappear into the thick mane that engulfed his upper body in this form. An odd, bright look slanted Ice's way and then turning to focus intently on her, had the woman shifting a little to block any view from outside of the cell. The Were rumbled at her and as he turned to leave, his tail whisked around and slipped up Marion's shift. The scientist squeaked and just managed to close her thighs as a small package was placed there. To anyone watching, it just looked as if the male had indulged in a quick grope. Marion could hear their guards snickering as the beast exited the room…and DAMN IT…if her cheeks didn't burn in embarrassed response.

The vet was rather glad that the daily abuse had created a painful hitch in her gait when she walked. It did not arouse their watcher's suspicions when she shuffled awkwardly back to the bed after picking up the bowl that held their rations. Marion breathed a soft thanks to Ice's brother when pulling the package out underneath the blankets revealed an Emergency Military Ration…and a small, soft peach that had been pitted and sliced. The Vet would wait until the semi darkness of the night shift and see if she could mix a mash together and get it into Ice.

* * *

Chaos landed on the outside balcony leading into Ice's upper floor room. The moon had been bright and with his preternatural vision the demon had searched far into the night, stopping only when it became to dark to fly the low level search grid safely. Valentine, knowing full well how tired his eldest demon was, suggested that the proud being land here rather than dealing with the Shinra security forces that were scattered across the mansion grounds. The more exhausted Chaos became…the shorter his temper. (and lets face it…THAT particular leash wasn't very long to begin with!) After a couple of incidences where Vincent had to scramble for control before the demon splattered an arrogant and…unintelligent…. guard, the Host had decided that maybe they should make their landings up here.

Of course…the one time that they had come across a guard SLEEPING at his post…well…. The man's injuries had occurred AFTER Valentine had forced a shift! His demons were NOT the only ones having anger management problems!

For two weeks they had been searching with nothing to show for it. The dark Lord had flown every day for many more hours than he rested. Even the Galian beast was feeling the strain. That one had spent his fair share of energy following old sign that Abraham's people and the forest wolves came across. Inevitably these trails ended where a copter had landed. Once the enemy was in the air…they vanished without a trace.

The Host was fairing no better than his demons. While they searched, Vincent insisted that his two "residents" keep him awake and aware when he gave up his body. Even though this was exhausting to the man neither demon had fought him on the decision…They understood his reluctance to sleep alone as memories of Duprey and his sick depravities haunted their collective dreams.

Chaos sucked his wings in tight and quickly slipped through the French doors leading into the room. He pulled up short at the sight of the lit fire. Motion by the fireplace had his wings flaring slightly then the demon relaxed as Cid Highwind straightened up in his chair blinking sleepily.

"Bout fricken time you came in."

The pilot poured a big mug of steaming tea from a pot he had sitting in the fire and pushed it into the demon's cold hands.

"Gods be damned…Ya bat winged fucker….I expect one of these shitten nights yer wings are goin to fuckin shrivel up and fall right off if ya don't get yer ass in before it gets colder than a northern witch's titty out there!"

The man pushed those large hands up towards the sharp fanged mouth.

"Go ahead…drink yer damned tea, it'll warm yer ass up…mother fucking Gia, ya'd think that between the three of ya, ONE would have some friggin brains!"

The demon Lord opened his mouth to defend himself when Vincent snatched control and put the cup to his more blue than grey lips.

"Don't argue with him…you will just lose."

Golden eyes blinked and Chaos found himself sipping the hot, spicy sweet fluid. It sent a sluggish heat through his frozen limbs and the dark one knew his brows were trying to crawl right off of his head. This stuff wasn't half bad. He made the mistake of looking up and caught the Captain staring at him. Those cerulean eyes suddenly narrowed.

"What…did ya think I don't know my damned teas well enough ta pick one you would friggin like?"

Again Chaos opened his mouth to answer only to have his Host fill it with HOT tea.

"Holy crap…don't answer that…it's a trick question!"

The gunman sounded almost panicked and the cold muddled demon gladly relinquished control as the gunman pushed forwards.

Cid casually reached out and plucked the cup out of Chaos' hand as the demon's form shifted to that of Valentines. His other hand steadied the gunslinger as he staggered. Without missing a beat (or spilling a drop of the precious hot liquid) The Captain shoved the cup right back into Vincent's cold hands.

"HA…and don't think that doesn't go the same for you, dumb ass…flying around in the fricken cold and dark at all hours of the night."

The gunman opened his mouth presumably to protest the pilot's high handed attitude. One blunt, calloused finger stabbed out and poked him hard in the chest.

"Hell….do ya think it'll help the shitten girls, if ya fucking kill yer collective selves afore we find em! Shut yer mouth and drink your damned tea!"

Highwind winced inwardly as his friend's eyes shuttered themselves at the mention of the missing. Damn…he was aware that things were bad here. BUT…. Chaos' subdued reaction to his bullying gave the Captain all the clue he needed as to just how bad it was inside of Valentine's head. Still, Cid kept a hard blue gaze glued on the man until Vincent obediently took a drink of the steaming liquid and then quietly cleared his throat.

"Its good to see you too….Chief."

One broad hand crept up to run itself through bristly blonde hair, then dropped as Highwind rubbed the back of his neck. The pilot had not been a frequent visitor here since the incident with Chaos. Cid was having difficulties coming to terms with the fact that he was very attracted to another male. Oddly, and this freaked him out more than anything, the fact that he was having sexual fantasies about something that was not human bothered him less then the fact that Chaos wasn't female. Now just how fucked up was that!

Even so…the few times that he had made the run to deliver supplies, the man and the demon had engaged in a subtle,(and rather exhilarating, he was willing to admit) dance of attraction. Chaos had not been aggressive about what he wanted, but he had not allowed the pilot to avoid the attraction he was feeling. Cid was surprised to find out that being courted by something as ancient, erotically attractive and incredibly powerful as Vincent's eldest demon, was not only a turn on, but was also a tremendous amount of fun! The fact that Ice…in the early stages of her pregnancy, not only didn't seem to mind her mate's divided attention but had actually participated a couple of times in the Demon Lord's pursuit of him….made it just that much harder to resist the pleasure that Chaos managed to give him just tantalizing glimpses of.

After the last visit…he had such a guilty conscience about even thinking about this that he had sat down and had a long and revealing talk with Shera. The woman had listened and rather than condemning what was gong on…she had sighed in what seemed like relief and confessed that their marriage was not what she had expected and that if his heart was divided (and NOT just by his love of the sky!)…maybe they should take a hiatus so that he could work out just where he needed to be. The Captain had not been home since then… AND… to avoid thinking about the situation, he had pushed himself, his ship and his crew to the breaking point. He was paying the price for this with a disabled engine when he had gotten Vincent's first call for aid in the aerial search. After waiting ten days for the parts he needed to make repairs, the Sky Captain had finally thrown caution to the wind. Knowing that Vincent And Chaos would drive themselves into the ground until they found the women, Highwind had stripped his crew down to the bare essentials and made the dangerous run on an engine that at best was just unreliable.

Actually…. they had been lucky that when the bitch finally blew, it hadn't taken the whole damned ship with it! Cid hid his distress at the dead look he saw in is friend's dark crimson eyes…there wasn't even a hint of gold there.

"Hell Vince….when ya called I was friggin trapped in Costa Del Sol with engine problems. I finally got tired of waiten for Gods be damned parts and risked the flight anyways. We…uhmmm…blew the main getting here…She's flying on the fricken auxiliaries."

One elegant brow crept up, the ex-Turk looked like he started to say something, then Vincent's eyes flashed gold and his hand jerked up to fill his mouth with tea. Cid grinned in relief at the show of life from Chaos.

"Hell…don't ya worry…we'll fly the shitten search patterns even if that bat winged fucker has to tow us!"

The smile disappeared as the pilot earnestly searched Vincent's tired face.

"The three of ya have gotta know… I got here as fast as I fuckin could…right?

* * *

Vincent swallowed the mouthful of tea that Chaos had dumped in his mouth, arbitrarily silencing the "pot calling the kettle black" comment that the gunman had been about to make. The demon was right, it was delicious….Cid had picked one with some spice in it that went a long way towards warming him up. The gunman had tried to keep out of what was going on between Chaos and his friend. The pilot didn't need him muddling up the water anymore than it already was. Still…when Cid had been delayed in coming, Valentine had been worried that there was irreparable damage done to their friendship.

Chaos snorted softly…

"I TOLD YOU, CID WILL COME AROUND AND ACCEPT ME. HE JUST NEEDS A LITTLE TIME."

The man took another careful sip of the tea….

"Ever heard of the term…over confident?"

There was a rumbling growl…

"HMPH….ALTHOUGH…HIGHWIND NEEDS TO BE INTRODUCED TO THAT TERM. HE COULD HAVE BLOWN HIMSELF INTO OBLIVION FLYING LIKE THAT. SOMEONE SHOULD KICK HIM IN THE ASS FOR TAKING SUCH RISKS."

Vincent had a sudden vision of some of the hair raising aerial maneuvers that the demon had pulled, avoiding icy, SOLID rock cliffs and tall trees that could not be seen until almost to late as they flew at unsafe low levels in the dark. The gunman choked, almost snorting hot tea through his nose. At Highwind's questioning look, Chaos hissed,

"DON'T YOU EVEN GO THERE…. HOST!"

Cid pounded his back a couple of times and when Vincent could finally spit some words out…is was a heartfelt…

"It's okay, Chief…we are ALL very happy that you were able to come. Your expertise…and moral support are very much needed."

Cid just studied the gunman for a long moment as he lit a cigarette.

"Um hum…so what the fuck gives with Reno….I know I am damned tired… but Hell… I 'm pretty fucking sure I saw a shitten tail attached to his fricken ass!"

Vincent took a minute while he dressed to explain to the Captain some of the things that had happened since the attack. Hearing that the Turk was now a Were did not seem to faze the man but his blonde brows twitched up when Abraham's true origins were revealed. The blonde casually removed his smoke from his lips,

" Ah…. well hell…that fuckin explains it!

The gunman turned as he re-strapped his holster on. Crimson narrowed as he studied Highwind's innocent face.

"That explains what?"

"Why yer letting Reno play with Abraham….seems ta me like a great way ta fricken kill the ole boy off!…shit… I'm just a crusty ole sky jockey though…what the hell do I know."

Valentine's long strides took him towards the library, he had left the panting Cid far behind in his rush to get to there before something "permanent" happened. He had forgotten that the Patriarch had mentioned that he would be instructing Reno and Whisper in Family protocol before the meeting tonight. A soft rumble from Chaos did not slow him any.

"VALENTINE…I AM SURE THAT ABRAHAM HAS INSTRUCTED MANY YOUNG "IMPULSIVE" MALES IN HIS LONG LIFE. HE MOST CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE THE PATIENCE TO NOT DO ANYTHING….PERMANENTLY DAMAGING…TO RENO."

His eldest demon did not sound very sure of himself.

Vincent didn't hesitate, as he reached the library door and threw it open. His softly muttered

"It's NOT Reno I am worried about!" seemed justified at the sight that met their startled gaze.

Abraham was sprawled out in one of the high-backed chairs by the fire. His usual immaculate dress in disarray and a half full snifter of cognac held loosely in trembling fingers. The Were's flat grey gaze turned the gunman's way as he entered the room, and Valentine winced….the Patriarch looked every minute of his great age right at the moment.

"Mother Gia Abraham…are you all right?""

The elderly man slowly raised the glass and took a gulp of the amber liquor.

"That….BOY…is a menace!"

The hand sagged and Vincent sprang forward to snag the empty glass before it could hit the floor. The Patriarch of the Family pinned the gunman with a piercing look.

"I believe that giving Reno four inch fangs AND a tail… may have been a terrible mistake!"

A smooth voice interrupted as Tseng joined them,

"Hmph….. do you THINK?"

The head of the Turk's did not sound terribly sympathetic. He settled in one of the other chairs his face as inscrutable as ever. One finger tapped for a second on the soft leather and then the assassin sighed.

"What did he do this time….and do I need to kill him?"

Abraham just pinned the man with a very dirty look.

Tseng straightened up and lifted his hands in a defensive posture.

"Hey…what are you complaining about? You have only had to deal with him for a couple of weeks…."

Those steel eyes widened a little and turned to look at Valentine who just lifted an eyebrow in a …he's got you there…gesture. Something shifted in the old wolf's face and when he looked back at Tseng there was something very close to respect reflected there.

* * *

Cid followed the gunslinger to the library at a much more sedate pace. Really…if Abraham (or Reno) had created a mess in there, the Captain didn't want to have to help clean it up! As he walked past the ballroom, his steps slowed and the man didn't seem to realize that he had stopped just inside the darkened doorway. Damn…thin lips pulled down around the ever present smoke. Two weeks….a friggin lot could happen in that time frame. Blue eyes silently followed the track that Ice and Chaos had made as they had seductively swept across the dance floor that night.

All of these years…Vincent's resident demons had been just that… demons. All of Avalanche had been thankful when they had made the occasional appearance and pulled everybody's asses out of the fire…but they had also been thankful when Vincent wrestled them back into the prison of his mind. Not one of them had cared that each of these beings had a separate and individual personality, and the demon's, especially Chaos, had reacted to their ignorance with distain, arrogance, and down right hate. Since Ice had entered the picture, the man and his demon's seemed to have reached a beneficial truce…That could very abruptly and very violently change.

Highwind had gotten an unwilling first hand view of what the Demon Lord was capable of doing if he felt the stakes were high enough. The pilot took the cigarette from between his lips…damn he had bitten through the friggin thing! SHIT….if something happened to Ice and her kits…Chaos could very well go off of the deep end. If the powerful demon decided to take revenge on the whole human race, the Galian Beast would probably back him. If this happened…Cid wasn't so sure that Vincent would be able to stop his eldest nightmare this time.

The pilot sighed, put a new smoke to his lips and flicked his lighter. Sharp eyes picked up the reflection of the small flame as it glimmered off of crystal chandeliers and Cidney Highwind suddenly froze. Mother Gia! They had been making a course change when he had seen that odd reflection on the mountain side months ago. The coordinates would be a part of the ships permanent log! Lighter and cigarette dropped to the ground, the flame fluttering out as the man's speeding form vanished down the hallway. The Captain didn't even slow down when he hit the library…he just dropped a shoulder and crashed through the heavy wood door. He came skidding to a stop as Tseng, Rude, Reno and Valentine instantly had the drop on him with a frightening number of firearms. To make matters worse, at least five different individuals shifted into their savage beast forms in the blink of an eye and an uncountable number of very sharp teeth suddenly seemed to be bared in his direction.

"Holy fucking chocobo NUTS! …SHIT…Hold up…I think I fricken know where they are!"


	38. Chapter 38

WARNING….WARNING…Mature themes in this chapter. Intended for Mature audiences only! YES there is some BESTIALITY in here BUT it serves as a VERY important part of the story!

The Orphans of Cerberus Chapter 38

Ice jerked awake…laying very still, the female cast around trying to figure out what had awakened her. The lab was powered down for the night shift. She was used to hearing the small sounds that penetrated into their cell and her twitching shell like ears picked up nothing unusual there. The golden female sighed softly…well HELL! It was rare that she fell into a deep sleep. Between the stress of the situation, and her own body's discomfort…she had to snatch her rest as best she could. Easing her bulk over, the Were tried to wiggle herself into a more comfortable position against Yuffie's warm back. It was always a little cold here and both of her companions spent a lot of the night folded around the natural heater that her pregnancy had made of her.

At least she wasn't totally starving now. Shadow managed to keep sneaking in a small supply of soft foods and Marion was ruthless when it came to getting the weird mashes she made down Ice's unwilling throat. The female managed a small sad smile as she nuzzled into the back of Yuffie's neck. The little Vet should just let her fade…Ice did not want to survive to see her kits born into this miserable existence. They would always be considered nothing more than monsters and would be turned into sick and twisted weapons like her brothers, Steel and Titan. If she could somehow manage it…the golden mother planned on killing each one as it was born. If she had her way…this would be done before they could draw their first captive breaths.

Yuffie whimpered in her sleep and Ice softly licked the Changeling's fevered neck. Then she froze. This is what had awakened her! The female's ears flattened as she raised up a little and delicately sniffed at the sleeping girl's breath. Holy SHIT! Ice quietly scrambled up and switched so that Yuffie was hidden between her and Marion (who had also awakened and was watching her with sleep fuddled eyes and slowly raising eyebrows!)…Ice carefully re-piled the blankets, trying to make every move seem casual and unhurried to their ever present watchers. Then she slid back under them and put her arms carefully around Yuffie's body…which had started to twitch as if the Changeling was caught in a bad dream. Marion's look went from one of confusion to alarm as Ice quietly wrapped her long fingers around Yuffie's narrow muzzle. The scientist was just opening her mouth to question the Were when Yuffie convulsed under the blankets. Ice hissed softly as the girl thumped her hard in the ribs and then she just grimly held on as the thrashing body pinned between them… "Changed."

"What the HELL!"

Marion tightened around Yuffie's panting HUMAN form. Ice just stared at the Vet over the girl's sleek brown hair. Those pale silvery eyes were wide as the slender hands flew.

"_A True Change?….This is a TRUE Change_!"

Marion frowned,

"Do you mean that Yuffie is Cured?"

The female gave an emphatic shake of her head.

"_NO….Yuffie has made a True Change….She is a full fledged Were_!"

"CRAP…!"

Both of them looked into Yuffie's clear brown, open, eyes. The ninja's fever seemed to have broken.

"How do I Change myself back? IF Angelique see's me like this, I am SCREWED….Without the benefit…by TITAN!

Yuffie's intense, frightened gaze shifted between Ice and Marion's faces. The doctor went very still. She knew from experience how cruel the great beast was. The ninja had every reason to be terrified.

"Ice…"

That lovely face twisted and the golden Were dashed their hopes.

"_Yuffie's body is going to gravitate to her human form…it is her natural state after all. A True Changeling has to be taught to trigger a shift. Pain, fear, stress or even anger can…._

There was a commotion outside their cell and Marion hissed…

"SHIT!"

Angel and Duprey staggered into the lab followed by the two Troop brothers. Their watchers had not been fooled.

* * *

Vincent found himself in the unusual position of agreeing with Reno. (and Chaos) This WAS entertaining! They were in the main engine room of Highwind's airship. The room was remarkably quiet, the great engine silenced by its' own earlier attempt to tear itself into pieces. Cid was flying the machine on its' two auxiliaries and maintained that they would have the power to get the ship over and through the high mountains as long as the weather held. The crew had been stripped down to the bare essentials, this room was suppose to be closed down until they had the man power to make repairs. (Not to mention the proper parts!) Valentine had been on deck when a concerned crewman had approached Highwind and informed him that unauthorized personnel were down tinkering around with his…baby! As fast as Vincent was…Cid beat him to the engine room.

As he entered, the gunman had been snagged by a long fingered, strong hand.

"YO….boss….hold up there….just watch…this is going to be good!"

Vincent winced at the reminder of the "arrangement" he had been pressured into. It had been decided that only those who would not be in danger of being…Changed…would be going on this rescue. Abraham had insisted on several of his Family coming, the Patriarch included…and Shinra had insisted that this was a company problem and should be dealt with by Shinra personnel. Of course the only Shinra employee's that were not at risk were Reno and Whisper. Yeah….right! This combination in EVERYONE'S opinion was volatile at best…The werewolves would NOT take orders from Reno, and Rufus had insisted that the Turk chain of command not be compromised by Abraham.

Tseng (the sneaky bastard) had recommended that Valentine temporarily come out of "retirement" and be re-instated as a Turk. His previous command experience PLUS his connection to the Patriarch…namely Galian…. made him the perfect choice to be put in charge of the operation. ALL on the mission would take orders from and answer directly to him….Vincent had made it clear that he would do this only if ALL of the members of the mission agreed to it. The ex-Turk had secretly been sure that there was no way Abraham would put himself in the position of taking orders from ANYONE. THAT sneaky bastard had just nodded and murmured what an excellent idea Tseng had come up with. Really…the two were way to much alike for Valentine's peace of mind!

As the commander here he should have nipped this in the bud before it got this far…BUT… as the ex-T…um Turk watched Cid lean over the massive frame of the crippled main and look up into the engine's shattered innards…

"Whisper….Get yer fricken long tailed ASS outta my damned engine!"

Valentine made the judgment call that… yeah….Reno was right…this was going to be fun and rank did have its' privileges! The gunslinger smirked a little when both of his demons slipped forwards to watch as he joined Reno in leaning against the wall.

There was a muffled thud from inside the twisted mess of metal and a grease streaked head dropped out.

"But Captain Cid…I can fix this!"

Highwind slapped a hand to his face,

"Ah Hell Whisper…This is pretty fricken close to Gods be damned rocket science! That damned engine is a complicated bitch. Ya can't just go bypassing this and rigging that an expect that the shitten thing will run. Sweet talking and stroking er nice will only get ya so far…Ya screw around with her and she'll damn sure go P.M.S. and kill us all!"

Whisper blinked and wistfully stroked a twisted coupling…

"But if you remove this and…"

"Hey… DON"T fricken touch that…Damn it….get yer big, pink, monkey BUTT outta my engine!"

Reno stirred beside Vincent…

"Yo… man, you goin to step in here?"

Valentine just tucked his chin down into his collar a little further, smirked and shook his head.

Reno grinned and leaned back against the wall again.

"GREAT….he shouldn't have said that!"

Whisper's ruby eyes picked up a bloody glow and then narrowed…the watchers saw his thin lips form the words…PINK…Monkey Butt?…then twist up in a truly evil smile.

"WHAT…do you mean you don't want me touching….THIS?

Those powerful fingers closed on the coupling the young male had been looking at. A quick twist of his thick wrist and the part came off.

Cid looked like he was going to have a coronary.

"You afterbirth of a Wuttian gang fuck….put that bastard back!

The were male dropped down until he was hanging by his strong tail, his long narrow muzzle just inches in front of Highwind's red face. The beast bared his four inch fangs and softly growled…

"Make me!"

A twist of his lithe body and the white disappeared back up into the bowels of the silent machine.

Valentine straightened up a little in concern as Highwind bit through his cigarette and did an odd little dance, one hand clutching his chest.

"Mother fucking, Gods be Damned, fricken MONKEY from hell!"

There was another loud thump from Cid's precious engine and a large bolt came flying out just missing the blonde's cursing head.

Reno could not suppress his loud snicker…for that matter Chaos was sending out warnings that Vincent was going to hurt himself internally if he kept holding it in. Cid unfortunately heard them and the Captain spun, stalking towards the loitering pair.

One blunt finger stabbed Reno in the chest.

"You…laugh it up jack ass! This is YOUR fricken fault!"

The Turk's red brows flew up.

"YO!…What?"

"I just happen ta fuckin agree with the old wolf….YOU are a damned bad influence!"

Vincent just managed to wipe the smile off of his face as narrowed cerulean eyes flashed his way. He wasn't fast enough.

"What are you smiling at…Vamp! Ain't you supposed ta be the shitten BOSS here? That means my huge ass bill is going to end up on yer Gods be damned desk if dumb ass up there fricken fucks my baby up!"

"HEY….THINGS LOOK PRETTY FUCKED UP IN THERE ALREADY…HOW WILL HE KNOW IF WHISPER MAKES THINGS WORSE?"

Valentine opened his mouth to relay the message to Highwind only to have his eldest demon snap it shut.

"DON'T….THAT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!"

* * *

Cid paused on his way back up to the command deck. He was grinning as he shook a new cigarette out of his package and placed it between his lips. Ha….that had been rather fun. People did not realize that being "The Captain" required more than just being able to pilot the great ship. Naw…. it took a subtle and working knowledge of how to manipulate people when ya needed to. The Captain had been worried about Vincent's state of mind. Knowing the man as well as he did, Highwind was certain that by the time they reached their destination the gunman would have worked himself and his demons tighter than a virgin's mainspring. These little…distractions…that he orchestrated, helped provide a relief valve for the man's severely bottled up (Anal!) emotional state. The fact that the blonde had caught Vincent with a smirk on his face showed that this one, at least, had worked to an extent! They needed Valentine to be on his best game if…WHEN…they found the girls. HELL, everyone needed to be on their best game…That bitch grandma, Angelique, had already proven just how ruthless and twisted she was! AND… If these people were mass producing those creepy changeling creatures…things were going to get mighty rough.

The pilot ran a blunt fingered hand through his hair to rub at the back of his neck as he stepped on deck…his relief pilot promptly stepped away, relinquishing the helm back to its' master. Highwind automatically checked their heading and the latest atmosphere readings, while he turned things over in his head. He was PROBABLY going to have to apologize to Whisper for the afterbirth comment. (This prompted a slight twitch of full lips around his smoke…that had been a stroke of sheer genius!)

Cid knew that Whisper was feeling more than a little down about getting injured and not being able to prevent the kidnapping in the first place. The boy's self confidence (along with his body!) had taken a huge hit and the white had been unusually quiet when they set out on this mission. It hadn't taken but just a few carefully dropped hints about the state of his engines and being understaffed from Cid for those shell like ears to perk up a little. HELL…who knows, Whisper might even be able to pull a miracle out of his long tailed, pink ass and get the damn thing working.

The man secretly hoped that his…motivational technique… worked and Whisper rose to the occasion just to spite him! The Captain was keeping track of a couple of anomalies in the atmosphere and feared that they might develop into one of these mountains impressive killer storms. If that happened, they would be woefully underpowered and at the mercy of the elements. Before this was all said and done…they might just need that crippled main.

* * *

Marion was ashamed of herself. When Duprey had removed a panicked and struggling Yuffie from their cell, she had a moments selfish hope that this would give her a reprieve from the sick researcher's and Shadow's daily…attentions. No such luck. Shadow appeared at their door to retrieve her slightly earlier than the usual time. Gods…the woman did not know how much more of this she could take. So crushed was her spirit and bleak were her thoughts that she did not notice that the black was not following their usual path to the lab. A hard hand in the small of her back as the beast suddenly propelled her into a small storage room was what jerked her back to the here and now! Before she could even draw a breath to scream, Shadow locked a hand over her mouth. His powerful arms bent her body forward over a small desk, and the woman's mind stuttered to a screaming halt as his massive body settled over her back while that thick, mobile tail and a hand-like foot forced her legs apart.

Marion was totally confused….Shadow had given her the impression that he did not want to hurt her…and now it seemed that he was going to force himself on her in his beast form. Instinctively she started to struggle. It was of no use, she was well and truly pinned. There was no stopping the tears of fear and…betrayal… that slipped down her cheeks as she felt his hard maleness press against her through the thin fabric of her shift. That heavy jaw dropped and Shadow's hot breath hissed in her ear.

"DON"T….fight me, please. We have little time before they realize we are not were we are supposed to be."

A hot tongue flicked out, lightly lifting a tear from its' path.

"As things stand… HE… will eventually kill you and I believe you have realized how truly horrible your passing will be!"

The vet couldn't help but flinch as a large, rough hand eased up her thigh, sliding the cloth up and out of the way. She fought hard to suppress a hysterical laugh as she felt the cool slickness on those blunt fingers as they spread her and applied a thick coating of lube. That laugh cut off as the hand withdrew and Shadow shifted his narrow hips until his hard tip was pressed tightly into her center. The beast growled a little but it was tempered by a soft sigh as he loosened his hold over her mouth.

"There is an alternative to this fate…I do for you what I could not do for my Audrey…I offer you a CHOICE between death and making a True Change. Do NOT choose lightly! Nothing I have done so far is permanent. Once this is done there is no turning back…If I take you as a beast…I WILL take your humanity and it cannot be returned! Choose quickly…but make damned sure you can live with your choice."

Oh Gods…oh Gods….Marion was not afraid to die, as a matter of fact… more than once, she had wished for death while the twisted scientist tortured her body for his pleasure. Still, she could not in true conscience, leave her companions to suffer when maybe the element of surprise could buy them all a way out. Losing her humanity wasn't a concern…very many more sessions with Duprey and the inevitable would happen. If her physical body did not give up…her humanity would die along with her sanity.

The Vet felt Shadow sigh and start to pull back, as the male assumed that her silence meant she was not able to accept what he offered. Marion quickly reached up and grabbing a handful of his thick mane she pulled him back down over her.

Mother Gia…he was huge…what was pressing between her legs was most certainly going to split her! With the internal bruising she already had, there was no way this was not going to hurt! The woman could not stop the way her voice shook.

"No…can't you just bite me the way you did Reno?"

Shadow nuzzled into the back of her neck and she could feel him running his tongue over her skin in a soothing manner.

"Biting you would bring about a True change…but that way takes more time. If you are inoculated this way…your change will be almost instant."

Mother Gia….not really a choice then.

Marion pressed her forehead against the desk, braced her arms and shifted her feet so that her shaking legs were spread a little wider in order to accommodate him. She didn't trust herself to speak, just nodded slightly and pushed her hips back into that hot, softly furred groin.

Shadow rumbled approvingly and his hand tightened back over her lips.

"I am sorry…I haven't the time to make this pleasant. If you stay relaxed…it may hurt less"

This was all the warning the male gave her as his powerful grip tightened and he surged into her.

* * *

Shadow had not been sure that he would be able to coax his body into becoming excited enough to mount the little scientist. He had grown rather fond of this particular female and the thought of hurting her was abhorrent to him. It turned out that his natural instincts came to the rescue. The male had taken the precaution of stealing some of Angel's pheromone laden lubricant. This intoxicating scent plus putting Marion in a position reminiscent of a female in heat, stirred his libido enough that he was having to exercise every bit of his self control in order to give the female a choice.

The male did not hesitate when Marion pushed back against him in much the same way a willing Troop female would. Rumbling a soft apology for the necessary brutality of the act, Shadow ran his length hard into her. He loosened his grip on her body a little, and allowed his heavily muscled chest to cushion the impact as she bucked up against the pain of this massive intruder stretching and tearing sensitive flesh. He did not have the time to let her body adapt to his size, (he really doubted it's ability to do so anyways) so even as she writhed against him, the beast closed his eyes, flattened his ears against the screams that his smothering hand stifled and concentrated on maintaining a steady thrusting rhythm. It became a little easier as shock pushed the woman to the edge of consciousness and her trembling body became still under him. Her blood eased his passage and he whispered softly into her ear to just hold on a few minutes more. Shadow had known there was always the risk that his mate would die of pain and shock before he could finish this.

A soft moan made him pause in mid stroke and relief shifted his eyes from old brass to bight gold as Marion's hips unconsciously pushed back against him. THERE…enough of the virus had been dumped into her system that the damage he had caused was healing. More importantly…as the female's physiology started to "Change" the close proximity of an Alpha male was triggering her Heat response. Those gleaming eyes flew wide when the little Vet lifted her head, flipped her sweat matted hair back out of her face and snarled at him.

"Damn it Shadow….I thought you said you needed to hurry this…Gods…"

Again the woman pushed back into him. This time rolling her tight little ass in a seductively wanton manner that just about made his startled tongue drop out.

"Move…your…Gods be damned…long tailed ass…hips…whatever…I don't CARE! Just MOVE something!"

Shadow gaped, lightly grasped the back of her neck between massive fangs and drove himself into her willing heat. Marion hissed…

"Mother Fucker…!"

As the woman under him started to pant, and rock herself into his thrusts, the Were took his hand off of her mouth in order to stroke along those soft furless sides. Shadow nuzzled gentle nips and rough licks up and then down her sweating back. The scientist shuddered as the male growled,

"My little whitecoat…" and his wedge shaped head twisted to slip a hot tongue along the little V at the base of her spine. That area (which would soon quite literally sprout a tail) was hyper sensitive and the Were had to slap his hand back up to muffle her howl as Marion drove her rump hard back into him and arched up against his cover. That was it….Shadow lost all control as he rode those twisting hips. Marion lost herself in her release… bucking and twisting against him, caught between the pleasure of her orgasm and the painful throes of a True Change.

Shadow bit his own tongue to keep from booming as the form he was riding…shuddered into her Change. His climax came swift and hard as instinct pushed his body into flooding her receiving vessel with as much of his virus laden seed as possible. The knot that formed at the base of his penis to trap everything in swelled and they remained locked together as Marion's new form stabilized.

Shadow carefully eased them both back and supporting the female's rather limp form, he settled back on his rump while snuggling HER rump tight into his lap. Without thinking about it he started working his blunt fingers through her tangled mane, idly noting the way each chestnut hair was tipped in soft cream. It made her mane look…frosted.

Marion stirred and tilted her head so she could look at him from the corner of one green eye. Shadow's breath caught in his throat. At first glance, Marion had seemed a solid, deep brown. But as the dim light played over her slender form, an irregular pattern of rich russet and, underneath, cream was revealed swirling through the rich loam. It gave her short silky fur the look and sheen of watered silk. The same pattern was there in the green of those tilted eyes but it was gold swirled in emerald…a very sharp contrast to the rich earthy tones of her rather elegant, narrow face. Those long shell like ears flattened at the look on his face.

"What…am I missing a tail or something…?"

The Changeling tried to ease up to look, only to squeak as she caught against his swelling.

Shadow grunted as a jolt shot through him at the sharp tug.

"Ah ha…going to have to sit still for a moment."

"Oh…sorry…"

Marion was very quiet as she examined her clawed hands and wiggled her feet to look at the long monkey like toes there. He felt a slight pressure against his belly as her tail tried to free itself from between the two of them. Shadow wasn't surprised when his mate's shoulders hitched as she started to cry. He ran a soothing tongue along the back of her neck, snuffling a little as her soft mane ticked his nose.

"I am sorry…Marion…I could not think of anything else to do…Duprey IS eventually going to kill you. Or worse…Titan"

The Vet straightened up eliciting another soft hiss from the male.

"Damn…still Marion…please…sit still."

The female carefully leaned her head back against one powerfully muscled shoulder.

"Sorry…It's okay, Shadow…I'm not crying because of this…"She tried to raise a leg only to freeze as the male grabbed her hips to immobilize them. His groan was slightly strangled.

"Damn…sorry…It's just I am not HURTING anymore. I hadn't realized how bad the pain had become until it quit."

Shadow smiled against that satiny fur.

"Your healing factor has repaired the damage that Duprey has been inflicting on you. HE won't be able to hurt you like that any more."

The male felt himself softening and he carefully shifted the scientist around so he could look at her. He was startled by the absolutely WICKED look that crossed that oddly delicate, triangular face.

"Maybe…If we are LUCKY…that twisted bastard will rape me one more time before he realizes what I've have become."

Shadow's gape mouthed smile was as evil as hers.

"That would be an…appropriate…fate for that one…now wouldn't it!"

* * *

I realize that parts of this are skating right up to the edge on what this site allows but I could not think of any of it that I could remove without affecting the story line.


	39. Chapter 39

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world...I am just playing in it for a while. I own the rights to the original parts of this story line...I also own my original characters. There is a small amount of torture in this chapter but I felt that it was within FF's guidelines.

The Orphans Of Cerberus Ch. 39

Whisper stretched and twisted as he tried to shift a particularly stubborn piece of shattered metal. A groan escaped him as the healing damage in his chest sent a sharp warning stab through him as it protested the movement. Stifling the soft sound, the male flashed a quick glance down…Reno was still leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. The white relaxed a little…his mate had not heard him. Vincent on the other hand, had lifted his pale face up a little and Whisper caught the concerned look that passed fleetingly over it. Crap…a curse on that man's incredible hearing. He held the man's crimson gaze for a moment, and then scrambled up a little higher into the wrecked engine.

Whisper had always been the lowest ranking male of his Troop by choice. He had never FELT inferior because of it. Whenever the white had chosen to fight, he had always given a good accounting of himself. The attack on the mansion was the first time he had failed in his protective role as a Troop male. The following week that he had spent just clinging on to life was the first time he had ever felt truly vulnerable. He had failed miserably and the young male could not understand why his Alpha had not taken him to task for it. MAYBE…no one had reprimanded him because he WAS an inferior male and they did not think him worthy of correction.

Even his chosen was treating him differently. Reno had been almost…distant…and had not initiated ANY intimacy since Griffin had released the white from the medical lab. As his damaged body slowly healed, and the powerful males around him avoided giving him any meaningful task to do…Whisper had truly started to believe that he was totally useless. The young male had tried to help by volunteering to join the search, but EVERY top male…INCLUDING Abraham (and there was NO way he was going to disobey THAT one!) had insisted that he not put himself at risk. Getting them to let him come on this mission had been a small victory for Whisper and when he realized the dire condition Highwind's main engine was in, he at last had something he could do.

Standing up to the Captain on that Alpha's own territory was the first time in three weeks that Whisper had felt like himself. Damn it…he wasn't an invalid, and if Vincent wanted to force him down…well… that frightening Alpha was going to need some help because Whisper wasn't coming out of his own free well! AH HELL…the man's eyes flashed gold for a moment and the white wedged himself up a little tighter. He didn't THINK Chaos could fit up here?

A soft rustle coming from the deeper shadows at the far end of the engine room took Valentine's disconcerting attention off of him for a moment. Reno jerked to attention away from the wall, a quick hand dipping towards his weapons as a darker shadow separated itself from the whole. Oh Oh Oh…Whisper wasn't the only one in trouble…HE wasn't supposed to be here!

Rude casually removed his jacket and tie. Ignoring both Reno and Valentine's astonished looks, the Turk tilted his shaded gaze to look up at Whisper as he rolled his sleeves. That reflective look then dropped to encompass his partner and his boss.

"Man, since I am hiding down here anyways, Whisper…why don't I give your big, pink, monkey tailed ass a hand!"

Before either of the two men could move, Rude caught an overhanging spar and with surprising dexterity for a man of his build he shimmied up to join the Were inside the engine's innards. Whisper could not stop the grin that exposed his fangs as he dropped his tail, wrapped it around the Turk's smooth skinned wrist and helped him up the last few feet. Valentine's golden glare followed Rude's path and then rested in an accusing manner on the stowaway. The big man just shrugged.

"It's called the "Reno" effect. NO ONE is immune…You can't expect me to be partnered with HIM for years and not have something rub off."

Reno manufactured a pretty convincing sob…

"Partner…I am so...proud!"

Whisper watched in total fascination. How was Vincent going to deal with this powerful male and his Second's insubordination? Crimson/gold eyes narrowed for a second, and then Vincent just shook his head slightly and sighed. His quiet words easily reached the young male's flicking ears.

"Both of you…be careful up there! I would rather not be on the receiving end of a lecture from Rufus or Abraham."

The man turned towards the door, his cloak swirling around his black clad legs in a dramatic manner. All in the room heard his last muttered remark as Valentine made a strategic withdrawal.

"Or… GODS forbid…. one from Highwind!"

As the last bit of crimson flowed through the door, Rude found himself to be the recipient of a questioning, worshipful gaze from Whisper and a sardonic brow arched one from his partner…

"Yo…the "RENO" effect?"

Rude removed his shades and pinned his boss with a hard look…

"Man….Last time I left you two on your own, YOU ended up as a Troop chew toy, all broken and bloody. And he…" a broad thumb jerked up at Whisper… "had to be put back together like a jigsaw puzzle….That AIN'T happening again!"

* * *

Yuffie hissed through her teeth as Shadow jostled her when he set her down in an empty cell. Hours spent under the "gentle" ministrations of Duprey and Angel as the pair pushed her body's healing capacities to the limit, had left the ninja weak and hurting. It seemed that the two researchers had given up on using pain as a catalyst to try and force her body into a voluntary "Change." Yuffie knew that this wasn't a reprieve. She had no problem figuring out what was scheduled to happen next as she saw Angel making herself comfortable behind the glass wall of the cell and Duprey talking to a clearly excited Titan.

"Mother Gia, Mother Gia….where the HELL are you Valentine?"

Fear made her heart hammer in her chest and the girl did not realize she was murmuring this out loud. She flinched as Shadow untied and opened her thin shift. One powerful, clawed hand surreptitiously rubbed her back as the black exposed her naked, aching body to the chill air of the cell. The beast's gold eyes blinked to the color of old brass as he took in the heavy bruising and blood that colored the cream of her bare skin. A warm blast of air stirred Yuffie's hair as the black huffed softly in her ear. A growl rumbled through his deep chest.

"Anger, or better yet, rage…is by far the surest trigger to precipitate a "Change."

Yuffie shot him a startled look as he rubbed his chin gently along the top of her shoulder in an oddly soothing motion.

"Even if you submit to him…Titan will go out of his way to hurt you. He will NOT be expecting any kind of….resistance. Ice managed to KILL a brother who was almost as large….and Lahar was a hell of a lot smarter!"

There was a flash of gold as the male gave her a sly wink when he turned and headed for the door.

As the girl watched Titan stalk into the room….something deep inside her shifted. What the HELL had she been doing? Granted, since the attack on the mansion; between being restrained, drugged or just plain sick, she had never really had an opportunity to fight back. BUT…this passive attitude had started before than…just about the time her heart had broken and she had given up on love…The same time she had decided to bow to her father's wishes and marry for responsibility, not her heart's desire. DAMN Vincent….that damaged man had managed in his ignorance to do what her teachers, councilors and father had never been able to do. He had almost broken the most important gift her mother had given her before she died…. Her free, unconquerable spirit!

Brown picked up a glimmer of honey gold as Titan stopped his slow stalking of her and straightened up into a threat/dominance posture. That wicked muzzle gaped and the beast let out on evil chuckle.

"Little female…. Change… if you can! Be you human or beast, it matters not. Either way, you WILL stand for me."

The beast made an obscene motion with his narrow hips, drawing Yuffie's unwilling gaze to his already hard maleness. Without even being aware of it, the princess started backing away. Titan's lips lifted in a nasty smile, baring all of his fangs. A broad pink tongue ran out almost as if the black was trying to taste her fear.

Except fear wasn't the only thing the ninja was feeling. A small bright core of anger had awakened in her chest. She knew exactly what this great beast had planned, the memory of what he had done to her friend NEVER left her. That little coal burned a little hotter when her mind automatically shunted away from that horrifying scene. Yuffie focused for a second on the hot passion and gentle ecstasy that Vincent had introduced her to and she purposefully laid the two visions side by side in her mind. There was NO way she was standing for that sick FUCKER. If he was going to rape her she would make damn sure it was a dead body the beast mounted. Blazing flame exploded to life, and Yuffie felt the first burning flush of Change.

Titan boomed as Yuffie shifted to her beast form. The male rolled forwards, dropped back to all fours and started towards her, his lustful intent written on very line of that smoothly flowing, thickly muscled body. The female's honey gaze never left the great beast as he advanced and when he had just about reached her, Yuffie scuttled sideways, moving quickly out of his reach. A deep rumble shook the air of the room and Titan swung towards her, again moving forwards in a slow stalk. The princess never let any of her anger show, instead she gave the male a humble closed mouth smile, and remembering how Whisper had given Vincent his throat in submission, she rolled her head. The woman did not miss the pleasure that flared in that lurid yellow gaze at her perceived lack of spirit. Gritting her teeth….Yuffie turned her rump to the male, dropped her forequarters and twitched her long tail to the side, giving Titan a clear view of her pink sex…AND easy access.

Pure nausea rippled through the ninja's guts as hot breath wafted across her backside. The girl could not control the shudder that ran through her as she felt Titan's powerful hands settle on her ass, sharp claws purposely drawing blood as the beast casually tongued her. It took every ounce of self control as Yuffie held herself perfectly still while Titan's huge bulk settled over her back. Just as his massive jaws gaped across the back of her neck and she felt his hardness press against her petal lips, the ninja acted.

Her flexible tail whipped around one thick ankle and powerful legs propelled her forward. The male's fangs tore bleeding paths across her shoulders as the Changeling surged forward, yanking the big black's legs out from under him. Titan ended up flat on his back…the ninja executed a rolling flip (GODS there were times that she just LOVED this Changed body) and landed hard, long hind claws digging and slashing at the male's unprotected belly while her wedge shaped muzzle darted to slash at the thick, mane covered throat. Titan screamed as knife like talons tore through his groin, he just managed to get a forearm between her snapping jaws. Yuffie grinned as she shredded it for him. The male managed to get a foot braced against her stomach and with a grunt and twist, he slashed deep as he kicked. The female's lighter form went flying to thump hard into the unforgiving wall.

Yuffie was pulling herself to her feet when Tiran surged up off of the floor. The girl gave the male a nasty fang baring grin as she saw that she had just about gelded the fucker. Long bleeding gashes tore across and down that flat muscled belly and carried right on through to pulse blood from the inside of his thigh. The beast dropped into a crouch, his massive head dipping to protect his throat. Yuffie straightened into a threat/dominance posture. The princess ignored the hot blood running down her own thighs as she bared her fangs at the male. She had lost her bid to surprise and kill the male outright….but like HELL if she would let him touch her. The White Rose of Wuttia would die first.

"Come on….you chocobo butt fucking bastard….lets dance!"

All intelligence left those glazed yellow eyes and with a scream of rage Titan launched himself into an attack. Yuffie remembered the directions that Ice had given them all about closing with one of her brothers. The shonobi launched herself at the charging male and twisted by him, slashing with tooth and claw as she did so. The beast shrieked in rage and pain as new wounds opened in his flank. The second time Yuffie started her strafing run she was aware of a commotion outside of the room's glass wall as Duprey dove for the cell door. She ignored it as she purposefully closed with the beast. In less then a heartbeat Titan had her pinned on her back, his jaws locked around her neck. Yuffie screamed as powerful claws dug into her ribcage, breaking ribs and puncturing a lung as the beast dragged her thrashing body into the position he wanted it in. Her vision was tunneling into black as she felt the beast pushing between her legs, fully intent on finishing his rape as he took her life. The fading woman turned her hazy thoughts to Vincent, she did not want to be aware as the monster took by force what she had freely given the man.

The princess felt the beast's body jerk before he could split her and his fangs left her throat as they parted in a pain filled shriek. There was a flash of lurid green as the ornate collar around the thick neck flared into life. Yuffie's awareness dimmed in unrelenting agony as she heard Duprey cursing while he brought Titan crashing down.

* * *

Cid settled The Shera II in a small isolated valley a few miles from their actual destination. The Captain had come in low, almost scraping the peaks as he eased the ship down into the box canyon's narrow confines. They were well hidden here…BUT if the weather turned, the funneling effect the terrain would have on the wind could make it impossible for the crippled airship to clear the mountainous cliffs when they took off. Worried blue eyes studied the latest atmospheric reports noting that the two fronts had converged. In not to much time…all hell was going to break lose in the skies over this range. Even if the wind didn't get as bad he was thinking it was gong to be… (yeah, right!)….the ship could not fly if her props iced up.

Vincent watched quietly as Reno clipped a decoder onto the computer lock on the camouflaged door. The rescue party had come across the lower peaks, traveling in beast form. They needed to take advantage of the greater speed and better woods craft that the four legged forms gave them. This had immediately paid off when Justin, Neibelhiem's smith and the largest, blondest wolf that Vincent had ever seen, sniffed out a scent trail that had led to this hidden entrance. A soft curse from his Second brought the gunman's attention back to the present.

Reno's green eyes were narrowed in concentration as his long, slender fingers flew over his keyboard.

"Reno…?"

This was a soft admonishment to hurry. Speed and the element of surprise were going to be the deciding factors on whether or not they were going to be able to get in and out in the four hour window that the Captain had insisted was all of the time that they had. Highwind had been very adamant that they….

"Shag yer scraggy asses back to the ship before the Gods be Damned weather closes in!"

Those cerulean eyes had been filled with concern as the man shifted his smoke to the other side of his mouth and laid the law down.

"If ya aren't back by the time we start icing up…I'll have to take off, Vince. Once the wind hits sixty miles an hour, any extra weight an I won't be able to get this big bellied bitch over the frickin peaks on just the auxiliaries. I won't be able to fuckin wait for ya!"

Valentine had just nodded his understanding….he would make sure that the rest of the party headed back with time to spare.…on the other hand…HE wasn't leaving this area until he had finished this!

There was a soft click and Reno's short fist pump signaled success as the door silently slid back without any alarms going off.

Valentine slid into the entryway, followed closely by the Turk. He heard a short coughing bark from Abraham and their rear guard of Family Lieutenants closed up ranks behind them. A ripple of shape shifting and the Patriarch joined him, clad in the half human, half wolf form that the Werewolves seemed to prefer for battle. A slight motion of one lean hand had Griffin, Justin and a very quiet male who was simply called Brother, fanning out ahead and to the sides, leaving directly in front of the Turks clear just in case gunplay was needed. Vincent had made it clear that fangs and claws were the weapon of choice here, for the obvious reasons.

A quick glance at his Second showed that Reno had already Changed. The red spotted male winked at him as he tapped his EMR gently against one shoulder. Valentine nodded and stepped back into his mind, allowing Galian to surge forward. The Beast was by far the best choice for close quarter fighting. Chaos carried on a short terse conversation with his Host about staying aware while his demons were let loose. The eldest was worried that Vincent's shaky mental balance might not be able to deal with some of the things that could happen while his less civilized tenants were in control. Chaos did not want any interference from Valentine if something the man might consider…monstrous… were to occur. Vincent just growled at the dark being that right at the moment he was having NO problem embracing his inner monster….and that if he WERE to become…squeamish… he would let the powerful demon push his consciousness under

*********************************************************************.

Reno knew that things had been going way to smoothly up until now. It did not surprise the man when the group came around a corner and ran smack into a patrol of five armed guards. Reno cursed and drew his sidearm as five automatic rifles swung up to target then. SHIT…there was no WAY that the Weres were going to be able to take all of them out before gunfire erupted. Abraham's soft voice reached all of their ears…

"Hold!"

The aged were took a step in front and his eyes picked up the glow of molten steel. His graceful hands made an odd grasping motion as if he were drawing something into his Core. Reno blinked as the air between those lean hands shimmered to life, rippling as if it were superheated. The enemy did not even have their weapons up and targeted before the Patriarch pushed whatever he was creating… OUT… with a casual flick of those long, clawed fingers. It felt like all of the air was being sucked out of the Turk's lungs as that shimmering sphere expanded to fill the hall way and raced out. The men blocking their path did not even have the time to scream as every part of them that was combustible flared to brilliant white. Reno found himself, along with the Galian, ducking and putting an arm up to protect his face from the backwash of serious heat. When his watering eyes could see again…they widened as five columns of sooty grey ash collapsed to the tunnel floor.

"WHOA!…"

The Turk had a fleeting moment of panic when he thought of all of the times in the last three weeks that he had baited the old beast, trying to get him to lose his temper. Those glimmering steel eyes slid his way for a moment and a sly smile twitched the old one's lips up, exposing his blunted fangs. THAT wasn't going to happen again any time soon! Reno's wide mako glowing eyes met and held the Galian Beast astonished yellow ones.

"Uhm…Yo…I always wondered where that flame throwing ability of yours came from!"

Galian snorted softly and turned to carefully pick his way through the ash. Reno hid a grin at the way the beast fastidiously shook his hands and feet afterwards in order to rid himself of any clinging soot.

Between the Were's incredible tracking ability and their ability to blend totally with the shadows….it took very little time and the group found themselves in front of what was most definitely a lab door. Galian and Justin dispatched the two guards with no difficulty and Reno knelt, his trusty little decoder already working on the lab's security locks.

A soft gagging noise jerked the Turk's attention up as Abraham and Griffin followed Galian inside. Reno looked in and then wished he hadn't. Ah HELL….the Turk stepped back as the surgeon/bartender staggered out and lost a short battle with his stomach. None of the Were's had any experience in witnessing the atrocities of a Shinra lab. These were every bit as bad as Hojo's had ever been. There were many cells distributed in a wheel pattern around the lab proper. All of the cells were fronted with thick glassteel. Several held Changelings, the things threw themselves at the glass, blood and saliva streaking it where they tried to bite their way through. The others held a pathetic array of mutated "Specimens." All bore the telltale marks of vivisection and torture.

"Mother Gia…" this soft exclamation came from Abraham.

Galian slipped past, heading back out into the corridor.

His was a deep growl.

"Not here…keep looking!"

The Patriarch gave his son's departing back a bewildered look, then turned that confused gaze to Reno.

"We are just going to leave them?"

The Turk shrugged…he hated to seem callous but someone had to tell the old wolf.

"Yo…there is nothing we can do here. These ones are doomed."

Abraham swallowed, then he turned and Reno flinched as the Were made that odd drawing motion and then went still as the air between his elegant hands rippled and danced.

"Can you open the cell doors from there…Reno?"

With a wry twist of his lips the Turk keyed his machine….after a couple of seconds the cells opened. Reno kept his eyes averted this time as the room flashed to white, and a wave of heat reached him. Abraham did not say a word as he stalked after his son.

* * *

Yuffie groggily dragged herself back to full awareness only to realize that she was in really deep shit. Her injured body had been strapped over an odd framework that spread and immobilized her legs. Her tail was strapped up and over to the side, her wrists were locked into tight leather and metal restraints. A bar that ran under her pelvis elevated her rear into the air and her head was strapped down to another padded bar. This position made breathing very difficult as frothy blood from her punctured lung kept oozing it's way down her throat, making her choke and gag.

The sharp tugging on her muzzle as Duprey strapped a gagging device to it is what had awoken her. The muzzle capped her fangs and prevented her from opening or closing her mouth completely. A soft whimper worked its' way out of her throat as she figured out exactly what it was for. Duprey gave one more angry tug on the strap he was tightening and then stepped back to check out his handiwork. He didn't sound at all displeased at the way things were going. As a matter of fact his voice was rough and thickened by lust.

"Stupid bitch…all you have done is increased MY enjoyment of this tenfold. Angel is taking care of Titan, he will be back shortly….and I can guarantee that there isn't an orifice on your body that he isn't going to pound into until you are all but shredded. I… for one am looking forward to hearing your screams…that is…when your mouth isn't being used… of course!"

Honey eyes widened and Yuffie convulsively jerked at her bonds, ignoring the pain of broken ribs grinding, as the researcher moved around to were she could see him. The princess had just enough time to register that all the man was wearing was his lab coat. Then the thin lash that he wielded cut hard across her sensitive muzzle. Thin skin parted, and Yuffie tasted more of her own blood as it trickled into her open mouth. The sick bastard grinned as her whole body jumped…one hand stroked his hard length as pleasure twisted his brutal face.

"Until then…well… I have permission to make sure that you are aware of the …consequences… when an "animal" misbehaves here."

The man moved around to where she couldn't see him. Yuffie moaned softly as a hard, unseen finger tickled the soft skin under her tail. There was a quiet, disappointed sigh.

"Unfortunately, I can't take my pleasure inside of your delectable…infectious…body. BUT…there ARE other ways for me to have my fun…and Titan won't mind coating himself in your blood, it will add….extra lubrication."

The finger stopped its' stroking and a scream replaced the pinned Changeling's moan as that wicked lash cut a fiery path through the sensitive nerves under her tail. Yuffie's vision sheeted to red as her body bucked against its bonds when the second stroke cut across her exposed sex. She was pretty sure she broke both of her wrists as she tried to get away from the third whistling cut. It never fell….The entire wall of bulletproof, reinforced glassteel…blew inwards, completely disintegrating as it was hit by the unrelenting power of Chaos' Rage.


	40. Chapter 40

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 40

Both Ice and Marion sat up and watched with interest as Angelique came into their lab proper followed by Shadow. This wasn't an unusual occurrence. What was unusual was that the black was carrying the limp bleeding form of his brother. The females moved a little closer to the glassteel wall. They could hear very little through it, but as Shadow deposited his burden on an exam table, he slipped a hand behind his back. Two sets of lips peeled back in nasty little smiles as the male cocked his head so that he could see them out of the corner of his eye and his blunt fingers moved through a slow dance.

"_The little changeling handed Titan his ass!"_

The researcher's attention was focused on cleaning and stitching Titan's wounds before he regained awareness so Ice risked communicating with her brother.

"_Is Yuffie okay?"_

Shadow's gleaming gold eyes shuttered themselves and the black refused to look their way.

"_No_…_Duprey has her."_

"Shit!"

Marion's fist hit the glassteel. Heat flashed under her skin as the woman's body responded to her anger.

"Mother Gia…!"

It took everything she had for Marion to lean her head against the cold glass and calm her breathing. Shadow had been very clear that she had to keep a tight leash on her emotions if she did not want her secret to get out.

As Titan sat up and Angel stepped back so that the beast could lick his wounds, silent tears started tracking down the vet's face and she felt Ice's warm hand stroking her back. Both knew that when the two sadistic males were done with her, Yuffie, at least mentally, would most likely be broken beyond repair.

* * *

Angel swore softly as she cleaned and stitched Titan's wounds. Duprey had sadly underestimated the Changeling's abilities. The researcher snorted softly. Leave it to the males to get their asses kicked by that little slip of a girl. SHE would never have made that kind of mistake, even the most harmless looking specimen could inflict damage if given the chance. It would have been laughable except for the fact that the bitch had come very close to removing a prime male from their breeding program. Another inch lower and they would have gotten to see how long it would take a Troop male to grow his genitals back!

The Doctor felt Titan's body vibrate in an angry growl as he awoke enough to feel the sting of the needle. Angelique showed no fear, she just turned her wrist a little so that the controller she wore for the slave collars glimmered wickedly in the over head surgical lamp's light. The beast promptly stifled his angry sounds. Drawing her last stitch tight (she had only put in enough to pull the lips of the gaping slashes together so that when Titan cleaned them they would heal quickly) the scientist stepped back allowing the male to sit up. He immediately started running a soothing tongue across his injures. Angel did not let the Black's docile manner fool her. His feral yellow eyes literally glowed with rage as he cleaned the blood off of his belly. That foolish Changeling had guaranteed herself pure hell for the next couple of hours…that was AFTER Duprey had finished with her!

Angel's attention jerked back to the here and now as both Beasts and even Ice in her cell froze. Three pairs of ears flattened as the floor seemed to shudder. Then the room rocked and every alarm in the place woke to strident life.

"Fuck!"

The researcher dove for the security center. A quick look at the flashing videos showed that Lab C's interior cameras were down. One of the outer ones picked up the image of a great hulking, blonde wolf beast before he looked up with a savage snarl and tore it out of the wall. What the hell? Where had THAT come from? It didn't matter….it was very clear to the woman that their security had been breached. The hidden facility had been discovered!

The scientist growled at the two guards who were assigned to this lab proper. They had NO clue!

"What are you waiting for…get out there and see what happened."

As soon as the mercenaries were out of the room, a quick hand stabbed down, sealing this lab. As the one door locked shut, another hidden one on the far wall opened. Angel had initiated defense protocols. It took only the pressing of another button to open all of the holding cells that perforated the entirety of the underground labs. In a matter of seconds every hallway but the one emergency escape route would be filled with snapping, mindless, bloodthirsty Changelings.

Of course… all of the guards would be eliminated but that was an acceptable loss. Their battling to get OUT would turn the routes to the surface into chaotic death traps. Let the rescuers try to fight their way through THAT!

The scientist calmly downloaded her research files and keyed in the order that would activate the compound's self destruct sequence. Hard eyes flicked up and pinned the Troop brothers where they stood.

"You two... get the specimens restrained and ready to travel."

The Changeling was a complete loss and there was nothing in the cloning tanks far enough along to survive decanting. Still with her notes and the Troop males along with Ice and her litter, the woman had all she needed to continue her research under the umbrella of one of Shinra's rivals. AND… with Duprey out of the picture…. ALL of the profit would be hers. The woman glanced up to notice that neither male had moved. Titan was eyeing her with a speculative look in his yellow eyes. Her gaze narrowed and Angel gave the great beast a nasty smile as she keyed her control bracelet.

"Don't even think about it….you will obey me or pay the consequences."

Both blacks flinched. Titan rolled his head submissively and headed for the cell door. Shadow moved to gather up a couple of leather and steel cuffs.

* * *

Shadow watched as his brother entered the cell and ordered the two females out ahead of him. The black had delayed in getting the cuffs to ensure that that Ice and Marion were let out into the lab proper unrestrained. He knew that if Angelique got the females out of here, they would spend the rest of their long lives as tortured specimens. If they were going to make a break for it they would have to take the risk NOW!

The male tensed as Titan shepherded the woman towards him. Both sets of eyes widened slightly as he made a barely discernable motion with the hand holding the cuffs. As Ice went left, Marion surged right. Shadow launched himself between them, taking the much larger, very surprised Titan to the floor. Powerful hands grappled, while massive jaws snapped as the brothers rolled in a thrashing, clawing battle for supremacy. The smaller of the two worked desperately hard at staying on top…he knew that if Titan got him pinned under his greater weight, his chances of winning this fight would drop to nil. He was also trying to finish it before Angelique got here wits about her and…..

Shadow screamed as savage fire burned a fiery path through his veins.

* * *

This was the third door that Reno had coaxed open. The Galian Beast was the first through, followed by Abraham and Justin. Vincent had been hanging back, just staying out of the Were demon's way. An almost paralyzing guilt ate away at him as they left the tortured "specimens" they found behind. Chaos very quietly reminded the man that they were operating under a strict time limit and could not waste a moment of it. They needed to find their mates and get the hell out of here.

Galian had taken three strides into the room, preoccupied by the conversation going on in his head when what he was seeing caught up with the three of them. This was another lab, there were two guards there, but these individuals were occupied with what was going on in one of the auxiliary rooms. One had even gone so far as to slip a hand down his pants.

The glassteel wall made it very easy to see what was titillating them. Duprey was just bringing his wicked little lash down across the soft pink skin under Yuffie's strapped up tail. The odd muzzle the changeling wore did very little to muffle the girl's scream as her striped, bleeding body bucked against it's restraints. Galian froze, Vincent's mind stuttered to a halt as the man was so overwhelmed with rage that his vision sheeted to red. Chaos quite literally erupted. The eldest pushed to the front and forced a shift as the second stroke of the lash caused the young woman to break her own wrist's trying to get away. Those great bloodied wings swept out and back, pushing Chaos' companions behind him and out of his line of fire. The demon's own deep, rage filled roar jerked the guard's attention around just in time to take a face full of hellfire as the ancient being unleashed his full wrath. They disintegrated as the blast hit them and the entire room jumped as the power wave rolled out and blew the glassteel to just so much glittering dust.

* * *

The initial blast just about knocked Yuffie senseless. Duprey was physically picked up and thrown hard to thump against the back wall. Even with his SOLDIER augmentation the researcher slid down into a limp pile…. stunned. The Changeling was in severe pain and her abused body was well on its' way into deep shock. She did not recognize the strange Were Beast that knelt by her trapped head… all she was aware of was that there were hands touching her and that HE was male. Her glazed honey eyes rolled back as she mindlessly fought her bonds. She almost did not here him as the wailing of alarms sounded throughout the facility.

"Mother Gia….Chaos keep her still for a moment!"

Yuffie's shell like ears twitched….she recognized that soft voice.

Strong hands cupped her lower jaw and another set of hands worked at the leather incasing her muzzle. The ninja managed to get her eyes to focus and they were met by steel grey ones. For a moment the wolfish face shifted and Yuffie recognized Abraham. Then….another ripple of flesh and he was once again more wolf than man.

"Yo….here let me help with that!"

The young woman knew that she must be delirious because Reno's voice was coming from a tall, lean, red SPOTTED Troop male.

Unseen, gentle hands removed the heavy straps holding her hips still and Yuffie could not stifle a moan as powerful arms lifted her slightly to unhook it from the bar under her pelvis. The movement, as slight as it was, caused the ribs that Titan's claws had sliced and broken to grate together. Agony rolled through her and the girl suddenly found she could not breath as foamy blood filled her throat. A gagging cough racked her and she blew red foam out her nose.

"SHIT…YO…get her off of that thing… Chaos…she's goin ta drown in her own blood!"

A deep rumbling growl gave the Changeling a little warning as long black talons came into view and cut through the wrist restraints. Then Yuffie found that she could scream as Reno finally got the damned muzzle off and Chaos flipped her, only to wrap a great warm wing around and under her broken body to stabilize things as he eased her to the floor.

The voice that breathed…"Sorry" softly in her ear was definitely Vincent's.

Honey eyes flashed open and Yuffie looked up into the concerned golden gaze of Chaos. She managed a sweet smile.

"Hey…you guys are late!"

Grey lips twisted up a little.

"HMPH….THAT SEEMS TO BE A REOCCURRING PROBLEM…"

There was a rustle and Yuffie found herself looking up into a dark wolfish face. She could not help but flinch as the strange male touched her. Warm, concerned eyes the color of rich loam crinkled at the corners as he gave her a slight, closed mouth smile.

Chaos pulled back a little, but at the girl's soft whimper of protest a large hand carefully ruffled through her mane.

"BE STILL, WARRIOR CHILD…GRIFFIN IS A PHYSICIAN. HE NEEDS TO ATTENT TO YOU, WHILE I DEAL WITH….HIM!"

The evil look that flitted across the ancient one's dark visage reminded Yuffie of just why Vincent feared this demon above all of the others combined.

* * *

Reno had seen (and done) many horrible things as a Turk. He had, over the long years, by necessity developed a hard armor around his heart. Still, as his shaking hands had eased that horrendous steel and leather "device" (and yes…he knew EXACTLY what it was for! He had used similar instruments of torture when wringing information out of unwilling victims. ) off of his young friend's bloody muzzle, the man came to the realization that he would NEVER be able to do this type of thing again! He was going to sit down with Tseng when this was done. and have a very long (or short! After all Turks, with the notable exception of Valentine…and news flash… HE was no longer retired! did NOT retire!) conversation about what he would and would not do while fulfilling his contractual responsibilities!

The Turk was just getting ready to drop that nasty piece of equipment when Abraham plucked it from his fingers. The Patriarch turned that innocuous bit of leather and steel over in his hands, studying it. Reno could just SEE the question in the elderly Were's face as he tried to figure out its' purpose. As those steely eyes caught and held his and one feathery brow arched up in question; Reno sighed, and then very quietly told this dangerous individual what it was used for.

Abraham dropped the muzzle as if it had burned him. A molten glow fired up in that steady gaze and Reno had a split second to think…Ah Shit…then the Were vaulted clean over the metal frame that Yuffie had been strapped to… his whole being focused with lethal intent on Duprey! In the space of a breath, the aging beast had the man lifted and slammed against the wall. The Patriarch's blunt muzzle split and the researcher screamed as he came to consciousness just in time to see dagger like fangs reaching for his face!

There was a blur of crimson and grey. A powerful arm shot between those steaming fangs and Duprey. Long fingers closed gently over one of the old wolf's wrists and a mighty wing lifted to drape softly over the Patriarch's shaking shoulders.

Everybody in the room heard Chaos' quiet words.

"ABRAHAM…BY RIGHTS, THE PRIVILAGE OF THIS KILL BELONGS TO ME AND MINE."

The Patriarch sucked in a deep shuddering breath and slashed a quick glance at the terrifying visage so close to his. Whatever he saw in the dark one's eyes… it seemed to satisfy him, as sharp claws were released out of Duprey's flesh and the were stepped back.

Every one's attention was jerked to the lab entrance as several of the Family lieutenants staggered in. It took a concerted effort for the three of them to get the door shut. Brother was panting and all had a multitude of bites and slashes…

"We have a problem…the halls are filled with Changelings…the others got separated and are trying to fight their way out, but it would be …prudent…for us to find another path to the surface!"

* * *

Chaos listened to the Second's report and than one large, cruel hand lifted Duprey back up by the throat. The other hand ripped the man's lab coat off. Splaying out, those black talon-ed fingers settled over the scientist's belly; sharp tips drawing blood from the man's groin. Duprey had been squirming and kicking until then. As the first little trickle of crimson trailed down his sweating skin, the rapist wisely froze. The demon smiled a cold, grim smile and dug in until his victim yelped.

"I BELIEVE THAT YOU REMEMBER ME….DON'T YOU, DUPREY?"

This was a soft, sinister croon.

"I….WE…. MOST CERTAINLY REMEMBER YOU!"

Chaos' hand tightened and he pierced flesh until he was buried into muscle. A twitch of his wrist wrung a strangled scream from the man.

"AT A DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE I MADE YOU A PROMISE AS TO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I EVER GOT MY HANDS ON YOUR SORRY CARCASS."

If the ancient one's hand continued it's bloody path Duprey was going to be screaming in soprano. As it was, the man was doing his best to scream and beg but wasn't getting much past the strangling grip around his throat.

The demon stopped his cutting and cocked his head as if listening to an internal conversation.

"WHAT WAS THAT? WELL… IF I MUST…." That grey visage smiled and all in the room shuddered at the wickedness that was in that one small gesture.

"IT SEEMS THAT MY HOST IS A LITTLE…SOFT…HEARTED…"

Chaos ignored the sudden headache that developed behind his right eye as an outraged Valentine gave him a proverbial kick.

Vincent's eldest removed his bloody claws and gave Duprey a little shake. Holding the man's gaze with his own, the demon casually ran out a long black tongue and tasted the warm ruby that was trickling down his hand.

"TELL US WHERE THE ESCAPE ROUTE IS AND I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATH A QUICK ONE."

The soft voice deepened…

"TELL ME WHERE MY MATE IS…AND I WILL MAKE IT PAINLESS."

Chaos growled as Galian joined in with his Host's vigorous protests….Mother Gia…the pair was giving him the MOTHER of all headaches. Now he knew just how Vincent felt!

"BOTH OF YOU…SHUT UP AND LET ME DEAL WITH THIS!"

His hooded gaze had never left his victim's face and as the sobbing man tried to get words out, the hand around his throat loosened a little.

"Please…there is a hidden door at the back of the lab proper…."

Reno's head snapped up. It only took the experienced Turk a couple of moments to find the passage.

"Bingo…the fucker is talking straight so far."

Chaos just blinked and waited.

"If you go left, it connects up with the other labs…the other speci…agh…." Duprey choked as Chaos growled and his hand clenched. "Ummm…. women are in lab F. The right hand passage leads up and out."

The man glanced around the room. His panicked eyes saw no sympathy on any face. As a matter of fact, Griffin looked up from where he was working on Yuffie and bared all of his considerable hardware at the man. Those panicked eyes flinched away.

"I could show you?"

Chaos rumbled.

"I…THINK… NOT!"

A quick lift and turn, and the dark one had Duprey face down on the frame that Yuffie had been strapped to. The man struggled but was no match for the strength of an angry arch-demon. It did not help his case that Abraham stepped forward and helped said demon strap him down.

All of the Weres flattened their ears as the man thrashed against his restraints….

"Oh my gods, please…Oh my gods…I answered with the truth…you promised!"

Chaos grinned…it was a nasty, evil, elongated fang showing thing and everyone within reach of the ancient being backed up a step.

"HMMMM…YES, THAT I DID."

The demon gave a theatrical sigh.

"BUT….AS MY HOST KEEPS TELLING YOU PEOPLE. I…AM…A….DEMON! AND…IN CASE YOU WERE NOT AWARE OF THIS…. DEMONS LIE!"

Duprey arched up hard as the demon moved behind him and one long talon traced a path along his ass. Rich crimson welled up as soft skin parted.

The researcher moaned and blood started leaking around the leather and steel cuffs as he tried to yank his hands off.

Chaos almost purred as the fingers of one hand spread the pale ass cheeks open.

"UNFORTUNATLEY… I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO MAKE THIS LAST. YOUR DEATH WILL STILL BE RELATIVELY QUICK… BUT NOT…. PAINLESS!"

* * *

Vincent struggled hard to rise, it wasn't that he was feeling any sympathy for Duprey. No quite the opposite…. This ex-specimen was rather looking forward to seeing the sadistic bastard suffer but NOT if it included the rather questionable use of his body.

"Chaos you aren't going to…..?"

Galian's reaction to the mental picture that his Host projected was eloquently simple.

"**OH…eww Chaos that's GROSS!"**

"REALLY YOU TWO…GIVE ME SOME CREDIT FOR HAVING A LITTLE TASTE! I WOULD NOT SULLY MYSELF BY PUTTING ANYTHING ATTACHED TO ME INTO…THAT. THIS…ON THE OTHER HAND…."

A quick hand darted out and relieved a startled Reno of his E.M.R. The demon chuckled darkly as he tapped the lethal weapon against Duprey's firm butt cheek.

"THIS… WILL DO NICELY…DON'T YOU THINK?"

Duprey bucked and screamed as the blunt tip nestled itself against his entrance.

Vincent exerted every bit of iron will that he had and froze Chaos' muscles before he could drive that instrument of death home. The demon fought his control.

"HOST…YOU DISAPPOINT ME! IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE SUCH A PANSY ABOUT THIS… LET ME SUPPRESS YOU. THIS FUCKER DESERVES FAR WORSE!"

Valentine vented a respectable growl and took a firm hold on his temper.

"PANSY!….First off…I just wanted to point out that maybe Yuffie is a little young to see this! And secondly…you need to lubricate that."

Chaos was practically sputtering.

"LUBRICATE IT?…VALENTINE, I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR HIS PLEASURE!"

Vincent's response was deadly quiet.

"Chaos…lubricating gel is an EXCELLENT electrical conductor."

There was absolute silence for a moment, then…

"HOST…I AM SO… PROUD… OF YOU!"

The demon looked up as Reno cleared his throat…The redhead extended a tube of lube to the ancient one.

At all the raised eyebrows in the room…the man at least had the grace to shrug and look sheepish.

"Yo…Turk motto… always be prepared…ya know?"

The demon happily slicked up the rod, humming a little as he applied a glob to the waiting, tightly puckered orifice. Duprey had been reduced to whimpers. The demon frowned at Griffin.

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE THE WARRIOR CHILD OUT…."

Yuffie fought tooth and nail as the werewolf gathered her up in preparation to leave.

"Don't… you… dare…. That bastard has been torturing Marion almost every day since we got here. I want to hear him SCREAM!"

"NOTED…"

Chaos rammed the weapon deep, boring all eighteen inches of it into it's new, very tight, unwilling home. The entire metal frame jumped as the former scientist's shrieks reached a higher octave.

* * *

The dark one murmured "NICE…" as he watched crimson streak out around the small amount that still protruded from the man's rectum. He gave the thing a savage thrust and twist as he turned it on to max. Everyone heard the bones in Dupreys arms break as he bowed up…no sound came out of the stretched open mouth. It was rather eerie, the only sound was the creak of the restraints as they were put under pressure, and an odd high pitched whistle as the man's lungs tried to force air out through a larynx that was rigidly closed due to extreme pain. Then, the man shuddered flat as the E.M.R kicked off. The researcher sucked in a breath and then he gave a very satisfying scream.

Chaos frowned at Reno, thinking his vaunted weapon of choice was defective. Reno just shrugged.

"Ya must have set it on pulse…"

Just as he said this there was a crackle and again Duprey was convulsing against his bonds.

"HMPH….WILL IT KILL HIM?"

Reno grinned…

"Yo…he is dead already…it'll just take a little while for his brain to figure it out."

The cycle was repeated several times while the group got prepared to go find the other two females. Between each pulse, the sadistic rapist screamed and begged, his body started shuddering as his nervous system was overloaded. As they were leaving he started choking and foaming at the mouth. Duprey's wide open eyes though made it very clear that the man was still very aware and feeling every moment of being slowly electrocuted from the inside out.

As they left the gruesome scene behind, Reno sauntered up to Chaos.

"Hey…that was my favorite weapon… ya know."

The demon pulled up short and looked at the red spotted male with a sorrowful expression.

"I AM SORRY RENO…IF YOU ARE THAT ATTACHED TO IT, I CAN GO BACK AND RETREIVE IT FROM WHERE IT…"

Reno back pedaled and frowned at Abraham's back as something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker escaped the Were.

"YO….never mind…I'll just make Rufus buy me a new one…..

* * *

Okay I did very little editing on a particular scene in this cause darn it the a**hole deserved it!


	41. Chapter 41

this is a fanfiction I make no profit from it. Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I own the rights to the original parts of this story line and to my original characters.

The Orphans of Cerberus CH. 41

As Duprey's screams were very distracting, Vincent insisted that they move the rescue group a little further down the escape passage. Griffin gently carried Yuffie. Everyone pulled up short when they heard the injured girl choke on a bubbling cough and then tell the quiet Were that she very much wanted to go to sleep.

"No youngling…you need to stay awake for a while longer. I need you to concentrate on staying in your beast form. It is more resilient, and it is very cold outside."

Griffin's worried eyes settled on Chaos' face as the demon lord moved up beside them.

"I have got to get this one to the airship! Even "Changed" her body is having a hard time dealing with the severe blood loss and shock. Those injuries were caused by another Were and they won't heal without some surgical attention."

Indecision flashed for a moment across the demon's face. There was a very good chance that Ice would need a physician before this was said and done. Vincent stirred but held his tongue, he full well understood his eldest's concern.

"YUFFIE, IS MARION STILL WITH ICE?"

Honey eyes flashed open in surprise at the quiet concern in the dark one's usually rough tones. The ninja lifted her velvety lips in a slight smile.

"Hey, do I look that bad!….What happened to…Warrior Child?"

"HMPH…" A sharp talon very gently moved a blood stiffened strand of mane out of the young woman's face. "I SEE NO CHILDREN HERE. JUST A BATTLE WEARY WARRIOR.

This got a bemused blink. Then the girl nodded and winced.

"Yeah…Marion's still…oh shit!"

Chaos twitched as Yuffie, moving with a ninja's remarkable speed, grabbed his wrist in a crimson stained hand.

"Oh GODS…it wasn't her fault…Vincent… make him PROMISE that he won't hurt her!"

The demon drew back, more startled than he cared to admit.

"Chaos…I want your promise that you will not hurt Marion…!"

" YUFFIE…WHY?"

"Please Chaos…I can't bear to tell you, please… you will see why…just promise!"

The demon's response was hesitant at best.

"HNNN…I PROMISE…"

Yuffie jerked hard on the arm she held. Her next words were almost hissed.

"OH NO YOU DON'T! As you mentioned before…DEMONS lie! I want your personal word…ON YOUR HONOR!…that you will not harm Marion!"

Vincent quietly murmured,

"She's got you there!"

The demon lord hissed in outrage and tried to step back, but the hold on his wrist did not falter.

The sudden motion caused a new fit of coughing and bloody foam gathered at the corners of the woman's mouth. Still, Yuffie did not release her grip and elegant black brows drew down as Chaos looked into the Changeling's intense face and saw the legacy she had been graced with. The little princess had a backbone of steel, born from the bloodline of Kings.

"AHH…BY MY WINGS…YOU ARE QUITE THE WARRIOR INDEED!"

The demon lifted the wrist she was holding and bent over it in an oddly formal bow. Warm lips brushed the back of the young woman's hand, then a sharp fang nicked the demon's own hot skin. Chaos' steady gold eyes watched as his black blood intermingled with the crimson that had already been spilt…there was no way he would ask her body to give more.

"BY ALL THAT I AM…I GIVE YOU MY WORD , PRINCESS YUFFIE KISARAGI, THAT MARION WILL COME TO NO HARM BY MY HAND!"

Abraham's soft voice whispered through the passage.

"I bear witness…"

This was echoed by every soul that stood with them.

As Chaos watched Griffin leave, accompanied by Brother and his two lieutenants, he very casually gave his Host a mental poke.

"VALENTINE, WHEN THIS IS OVER, WE…WILL…BE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT YOU BREAKING THAT ONE'S HEART."

The Galian poked hard from the other side and just growled.

Vincent very wisely just kept his mouth shut!

* * *

"Mother fucking cock sucker!"

It was a complete surprise that the freezing air did not warm up by several degrees in the Captain's general vicinity. Cid slipped again on the sleet coated steel. The fact that it was more than a few stories to the hard frozen ground was very much occupying his mind. The thick blanket of snow there would not provide much cushion if someone was unlucky enough to fall.

"Son of a Chocobo humping bastard!"

"Are you okay Captain?"

This from the fricken son of a rutting mountain goat who had not even slipped once!

The pilot looked over at the crewman who was de-icing the other auxiliary and just gave him a thumbs up…which of course made him slide again! The fucking sure footed spawn of a self gratifying gecko!

Cid chewed vigorously on his abused smoke and then shifted it to the other side of his mouth as he concentrated on keeping his footing. He was directing a stream of chemical antifreeze across the metal skin of his ship and the slowly turning props of the port engine. The flyer spared a glance for the roiling dark storm clouds that were slowly lowering over their little valley. The worried man muttered another soft curse.

"I am getting fricken tired of being shitten right all the Gods be damned time!"

Well…. Not totally right. The blizzard was closing in on them a full hour earlier than the four hour time limit he had given Vincent. The rescuers were flat running out of time.

The Captain had mobilized his crew as soon as the snow had started to fall. They had been up here trying to keep ahead of the ice for the last twenty minutes. That small amount of time was enough to convince the pilot that if his friends (and yes he WAS including that asshole Reno loosely in with the bunch!) did not high tail their asses back and soon…. They were ALL gonna be in deep shit! The wind was picking up and it was layering freezing snow on every surface of the great airship. Too much of that and without the main engine's mighty lifting power, they would be too heavy to take off, let alone get this bitch's fat ass over the high peaks. He had started the auxiliaries earlier to keep the engines warm and was running them just fast enough to keep the massive rotors from freezing up. Narrowed cerulean eyes risked scanning the dark line of the forest hoping to see the forms of a returning rescue party . He could see nothing through the driving snow! All this gained him was another dangerous slip on uncertain footing.

"Shit…you fricken treacherous whore…!" ( He was speaking to the shifting wind…not his beloved ship!)

He needed to fucking focus on what he was doing or he was going to end up a fricken leather coated, blonde be-goggled grease spot that someone would have ta shitten clean up come spring! Another sly glance toward the crewman who was still standing firm,… Hell… it was a Gods be damned shame that he couldn't figure out a way to make sure it was… his mother was a fucking gecko who had a perverse liking for horny Billy goats… boy who would be on the clean up detail if that happened!

* * *

Ice hissed as Angelique landed a hard kick to the tender area around her healing scar. How could such a frail looking female be so damned strong? Granted in her pregnant state the golden Were was less agile than the norm. And several weeks of poor treatment had sapped her strength but….really… this was getting ridiculous! She managed to twist away at the second kick and get behind the struggling, cursing woman. Ice's prime objective was to keep the whitecoat from reaching the controls to Shadow's slave collar again without lethally damaging her…if Shadow went down they would need the old bitch to show them a passage OUT. What ever she had done the first time had severely weakened the smaller brother and he would have already lost his battle with Titan except for Marion's constant harassment of the great beast.

When they had made their bid for freedom, Ice had been concerned that the little Vet would not be able to force a Change. The first purposefully triggered shift was always the hardest to trigger. BUT… the minute the room had echoed with Shadow's hoarse shriek of pain and Titan had pinned the smaller, pain paralyzed male under his massive weight with the intention of ripping his soft belly open, the female's form had rippled into that of the beast. Before those knife like fangs could bury themselves into the writhing black's defenseless innards, a small, savage Troop female landed on his broad back. By then Ice had her hands full trying to deal with Angel.

For being such an old female…the bitch was as nasty as a rabid dragon and as agile as a Gods be damned, slimy swamp snake! (Ah yes.. Captain Cid would be proud!) The Were managed to get the wrist with the controller on it bent behind the scientist's back only to have the woman slam backwards into her. That graying head snapped back cracking into Ice's damaged throat, as an elbow again connected to her injured side. Ice lost her grip as she staggered back. Her flank seemed to have caught fire and she could not get a breath past her spasming airway. There was no way to avoid the syringe that Angelique plunged into the back of her neck. The scientist's cold gaze stared into Ice's shocked silver eyes for a moment and Angel hissed…

"See you in hell dear…at least that is where you are going to wish you were in just a few seconds!"

Liquid frost traveled down Ice's back making her strong spinal column arch….the female had a split second to apologize to her unborn kits, then her world winked out and was consumed by icy flames of pure agony.

* * *

Angelique had carried silver nitrate filled hypodermics with her since they had acquired the brothers. She never relied on just one form of control when it came to dangerous, unwilling lab specimens. The doctor had taken the lessons that Hojo had given them to heart! Angel cursed as she watched the writhing pregnant female crumble. She had never intended for any of these to be used on Ice… the bitch and her litter were just to damned valuable! Still…her own personal safety came before any monetary considerations. After all she still had Titan and the new female changeling. And… if they could get to the copters, she had about an hour to harvest the rest of Ice's kits from her dying body before the liquefied silver she had administered crossed the placental barrier.

The researcher spared a moment to find Titan…the big black was again locked up with his smaller brother who was recovering from the first hit of silver nitrate with remarkable speed. With the aid of Marion, Shadow was actually getting the better of the larger more powerful male. Well, that just wouldn't do! Without a second thought, Angel triggered the fail safe on her controller. Shadow dropped, as for the second time a massive dose of silver nitrate poured through his veins. This was not a warning shot….no… this time the scientist made damned sure it was a lethal dose!

Finding himself suddenly free from the other male's grip, Titan straightened up with a roar and the smaller body of Marion flew over the exam tables to slam into the wall beside the open door. The little female did not get back up. The black dropped to all fours over the thrashing body of his brother, lethal intent written in every line of his thick body…he was going to make sure Shadow did not rise again. Angel's voice cracked out.

"Forget him, he is as good as dead…get over here and get the females, we have got to get out of here!"

"AH METHINKS…THAT… WOULD BE OVER OUR DEAD BODIES!"

This was spoken in a voice as soft as the distant rumble of a hellstorm. Still….the very walls of the lab shuddered, resonating with the awesome rage that swirled around the dark form of Chaos as he stalked into the room.

* * *

Finding Lab F was relatively easy as the sound of two battling Troop males carried well down the corridor. The fact that the door was open, and as the group came abreast of it, the limp form of a brindled Troop female thumped hard into the door frame, pretty much screamed that "here" was the right place. Abraham entered right behind Chaos, the Patriarch automatically easing to the side covering the demon's right flank. Justin's powerful form followed, flanking silently to the left. Both of the Family males ruffed out when they caught sight of the massive Titan. The great Black was still the heaviest male there. Chaos was the taller, but the beast out weighted him by at least a hundred pounds. Titan swept the group with a contemptuous insane yellow glare. Every male but the winged one coiled tight into dominance/threat postures, heads lowered, long fanged mouths agape. The demon crouched slightly, wings flaring as he readied for the beast's charge. The black boomed and with a coughing scream, he launched himself at the perceived Alpha of the group…namely Chaos.

There was a blur of red on gold in the doorway followed by a sharp CRACK! Vincent's eldest demon winced as a bullet split the air close enough for its' heat to kiss his cheek. The lethal little silver laced projectile lifted his raven mane and made it dance in the wind of death's passing. Titan shuddered in midair, hit the floor in a boneless roll and slid to a lifeless, twitching stop right at the demon's metal clad feet. A black rimmed, bleeding hole had appeared dead center on his low sloping forehead and most of the back of his heavy head was just…gone. Three pairs of astonished eyes turned to look at Reno. The Turk straightened out of the shooter's stance he had assumed and casually holstered his smoking sidearm. Chaos gave a soft cough, plucked a strand of hair off of his broad shoulder and rolled it between a long finger and thumb, scrutinizing where the high velocity bullet had cut it. Then the demon pinned the man with a steady questioning gaze.

The redhead winced…

"YO…just because I don't LIKE to use the gun….doesn't mean I don't know how to use a gun! Valentine is not the only Turk with a perfect score on the firing range."

Abraham tore his gaze away from the still body of the huge beast that had been a son as movement behind him drew his attention. The changeling that had kissed the wall was stirring. The Were elder knelt and helped her to sit up. He winced as amazing green/gold eyes flashed open and she softly hissed…

"OW!"

That soft throaty voice was unmistakable.

"Oh mother Gia…Marion?"

The rich brown head nodded, then the little Vet sucked in a breath…

Abraham was positive he saw terror flash in those haunted eyes as they watched Chaos move towards the still thrashing form of Ice. Then it was gone as she scrambled up to meet the demon as he reached his mate's side. A flash of movement and the Patriarch surged up to grab an elderly woman in a white lab coat as she tried to scoot out the door. In all of the excitement she had remained almost unnoticed. The Were remembered this one…she was the bitch who had….

Marion's voice cracked out.

"Watch out…she has….!"

Abraham felt the sting of a needle and hissed as liquid ice flushed through his system. He looked down at the syringe that was buried in his thigh and then up to catch a look of triumph on Angelique's lined face. Thin lips wrinkled up as a nasty metallic taste filled his mouth. The Were snapped his long, blunted fangs together as he ran his tongue out trying to get it away from the taste. This was the only reaction he showed as his healing factor neutralized the liquid silver. Angel's look changed to one of confusion and then fear as the beast casually lifted her until they were face to face.

"That… was your last mistake!"

A soft grunt escaped from Angelique's lips as a sharp blow landed over her heart. Fear tightened its' powerful fingers around the heavily pounding organ…No… that wasn't fear. The scientist tasted blood and looked down in horror at the hand that the beast had buried deep in her chest. Bloodied lips opened to scream and beg, only to have the sound die in her throat as the woman stared into those wicked metallic eyes. The intense gaze looked towards Titan, then shifted to were Shadow's huddled, still form lay. Then the father glanced at the weakly thrashing body of his daughter. That hot metallic gaze returned to settle unerringly on the researcher's face. AND… there was no mercy there.

The woman felt strength that was not hers pour through her body as those frightening eyes went from grey to molten steel. A feigned look of surprise crossed the Patriarch's wolfish features.

"Well… I'll be damned! The bitch does have a heart!"

As the others in the room looked at him in astonishment, Abraham's lips twisted up in an truly nasty smile.

"What?…You don't believe me….LOOK!"

The Were gave his implanted hand a sharp twist. Now Angel found her voice as she screamed. With another twist accompanied by a savage growl, the Patriarch ripped his hand out. The scientist's frantically beating heart came with it.

The researcher screamed and thrashed, but she did not die! Abraham studied Angelique in an almost clinical fashion…he was burning energy at an alarming rate maintaining her life, but he wanted this bitch aware until the very end. He lifted his bloody hand so the woman could see what he held.

"OOPS….I am sorry dear…I wasn't aware that you needed this….being as how it hasn't worked for one minute of your whole miserable existence. Maybe I should put it back where it belongs?"

The woman sagged, her screams had trailed off to desperate pleading. At the Patriarch's insincere question she looked up hopefully. The Alpha of the "Family" savagely crushed that hope.

"Oh, I don't think I shall….I do not think you have ever used it…and you won't be needing it where you are going!"

Abraham narrowed his focus in on the still beating heart, there was a sizzling WHUMP and bright flame coalesced around his hand. He did not release the screaming Angelique's life…until she had watched her wicked heart crumble into ash.

A flick of his hand shook the grey soot off but the Patriarch felt he would never be able to remove the shadow that this house of cruel horrors had placed on his heart. His graying head lifted and he could not repel a soul crushing sadness as Justin backed away from him with shocked fear in his eye's. Abraham was not known to be cruel. The great blonde werewolf rolled his shaggy head as he gave his Alpha his throat. A wave of weariness rolled through the ancient wolf, he had expended a huge amount of power this day. That combined with the after affects of whatever had been in the syringe had his usually reliable legs buckling. A strong arm wrapped around his waist, and the Were found himself held up against a warm lean body.

"YO…easy there old wolf…I got ya!"

Mako tainted green eyes held his without flinching when Abraham found the strength to look up. He saw no fear there. Just a steady respect tempered with understanding.

"Please, get me over to my daughter… Reno."

* * *

Marion reached Ice's writhing form at almost the same moment as Chaos. The great demon knelt, both hands hovering over his mate as desperate gold eyes searched the female's pain twisted face.

"MOTHER GIA…MARION…DO SOMETHING!"

The little Vet, preformed a quick check as best she could while the dark one tried to hold Ice down without hurting her. Reno helped Abraham over to them and the Werewolf also joined in trying to immobilize the pregnant female. His grey gaze searched out Marion's face.

"Whatever was in that shot was silver based. It not only poisons the system it creates severe pain as it does this. Ice is young enough that the dose could quite possibly be lethal."

This brought a soft growl from Chaos and a muttered "Shit…" from the Vet.

Her green/gold eyes settled on Reno and then shot wide.

"Reno…the drug cabinet is over there….make up that cocktail that you made for me but add an opium based narcotic to it. Make the dosage…oh…at least four times stronger than what you gave me."

The Turk blinked and all could see his lips sound out…four times…? Then the Turk headed for the cabinet. It only took a few seconds for the man to find and draw several different drugs into a single large syringe. As he handed this to the woman he was lightly sweating.

"Yo…I hope you know what yer doing Doc," was all he said.

Marion roughly pinned Ice's arm down between her back feet and emptied the whole thing into a vein.

"Mother Gia…."

This was a strangled whisper from Reno.

It took just seconds and the golden female's thrashing slowed. Marion looked into Chaos' grim face.

"You are going to have a couple of seconds were her pain will recede enough that she might wake up. The drugs will shut her down again in little time, so if there is anything you want to say, do it fast."

The little Vet scrambled away as the demon bent his head to watch Ice's face intently. Reno was the only one who noticed that the woman was hurriedly gathering together an intubation kit. The Turk turned away as his heart gave a funny lurch. He didn't think he could stand to watch the powerful demon's reaction if what little joy he had found in his bleak existence died. Maybe he would just go and hack the lab computers…yeah…that's what he needed to do!

* * *

Vincent mentally staggered, overwhelmed by a maelstrom of emotions. Not only was he dealing with what HE was feeling (which wasn't pleasant!), but Chaos' fear, rage and sadness were hammering at him. Not to mention the Galian Beasts. He could hear that one in the background, his low continuous moan was almost a howl. GODS…did the demon's feel everything that he experienced in this same way? If so…it was a wonder that all of them were not entirely insane! Valentine felt the terrible stillness that his eldest held himself with as he watched his lover's face. When those cinnamon lashes twitched and then opened he felt three hearts lift in hope. Silvery blue eyes blinked and a slight smile twitched pale lips. One slender hand flowed in a slight dance.

"_You are late….To late for one…" _

The same hand brushed an angry, bleeding scar… before now… unnoticed on the swollen flank. Tears sparkled in eyes already starting to glaze. Vincent also felt all three of their hearts almost break as those usually graceful fingers stumbled.

"_Maybe to late for all….?"_

"NO….!"

This was a hoarse whisper as the demon Lord leaned forwards to softly kiss her closing eyes. Vincent watched Ice slip back into the abyss and realized for the second time in his long life that there was absolutely nothing he could do. He could not even help Chaos as the demon also realized this.

"NO…I WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT WE ARE TO LATE."

The was a scuffle of motion and Marion was on the floor, belly down, swearing as she carefully worked a breathing tube into Ice's damaged throat.

"Marion….are we to late?"

This was softly breathed by Abraham.

The Vet blinked….and than ran a shaky hand through her tangled mane.

"I don't know. That cocktail should slow her metabolism down until she is barely ticking over. That will protect the kits while we get Ice out of here. The three are far enough along that once we are safe, I can safely deliver them by C-section."

"THREE….?"

Oh shit….Vincent did NOT like the sound of that. He liked it even less when Chaos traced a talon lightly over that nasty looking scar. Galian growled very softly. OH HELL… this had the potential to get very ugly…very fast!

That soft voice deepened until it was a low, purring croon.

"MARION….WHAT HAPPENED HERE…WHERE IS MY FOURTH…KIT!"


	42. Chapter 42

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 42

Vincent had a horrible sinking feeling when the little Vet refused to look up at Chaos. Instead, the woman handed Abraham the bag that was feeding oxygen to Ice's lungs and quietly told him to be sure not to stop pumping for anything. She also whispered to the elder that she was pretty sure Griffin could handle delivering the kits. The Patriarch just looked at her in confusion.

"What….Griffin…why?"

Damn…..this was definitely not good. Marion got up and backed away from Ice's still form. The Changeling also shifted to the side so that the demon would not have to go over the injured female to reach her. Through all of this, Chaos tracked her small form like the lethal predator he was. No…no…no…The ex-Turk could tell by the woman's body language, that no matter how the demon reacted, she was not going to resist.

"MARION!?…."

The brindled female hugged her arms against her soft belly, rolled her head a little to expose her defenseless throat, then she softly answered the demon's demand.

"I…I am sorry….I had to take her for Angelique's research…"

Now Vincent was not one to casually use profane language…but… OH FUCK! Was the only word that worked here. The Galian's moans erupted into a deafening howl and Chaos surged up, his black wings flaring wide. Baring elongated fangs, the ancient being stalked towards the young woman.

"YOU WHAT….!"

Feeling the immense rage that was hammering through his eldest, Valentine was not surprised that all that came out after that was a nasty, spine chilling, snarling curse. Marion's terrified gaze snapped up and then skittered away, unable to meet that terrible gaze. Out of instinct, the Vet took a step back. Vincent saw her hidden strength of will when the Doctor forced herself to stop and stand passive in the face of certain death. What the HELL? It did not bring any peace of mind that every Were in the room but Reno had their lips drawn back in threat, reacting instinctively to an Alpha's anger!

"Mother Gia…CHAOS…remember your oath to Yuffie!"

The dark lord hunched as if taking a vital hit. Those talon's crooked, reached for the brindled female, then came to a shaking stop just inches from her soft throat. Marion just closed her eyes. Powerful hands clenched into fists and the air around the winged form seemed to waver as with a strangled growl the mighty demon fought for control. Vincent started to push forwards only to be blocked by the Galian beast.

"**Don't….I know that you do not think much of us, but the old one WILL abide by his honor!"**

"Are you positive….?"

They were interrupted as the floor started to shudder. Chaos was directing some of his angry power down into the earth. There was a different type of rumble and a piece of the night rose up behind Marion. Reno swore and his pistol snapped up.

"Stop….the female had no choice in this!"

Shadow was a bleeding, ragged, staggering mess. But he did not hesitate to face off with Chaos. The Black's blood stiffened, ruffed out mane, dropped head and open, crimson foam covered snarling muzzle made very clear his intent. The demon would have to go through him to get to the female.

The ancient one was still too rage filled to speak, but he allowed Vincent to push forward.

"Explain!"

The beast's weary, pain filled gaze never left his adversary's grim face.

"The old bitch was going to take a kit no matter if Marion helped or not. At least this one went out of her way to cause my sister as little pain as possible. If she had not done this, the other kits could very well of been harmed and Marion would have been given to Titan!"

Those intelligent golden eyes blinked to brass, and powerful hands settled with surprising gentleness on the Changeling's shoulders, which had started to tremble. Vincent noted that the little Vet still would not look up to meet Chaos' eyes. Tears dampened the velveteen fur along her long muzzle.

Shadow's deep voice was full of suppressed anger and…sorrow.

"Angelique kept her word…she did not give this one to Titan."

The gunman felt his eldest demon's rage shift from killing hot to a cold and calculating thing.

"MARION…"

This was a soft crooning hiss.

The Vet huddled further into herself. The bonded three heard her whisper…

"Shadow…please…"

"No…HE needs to know this…."

The beast bared all of his hardware at the now very still demon.

"Instead…Angelique gave her to Duprey to use for his pleasure… every… single… day that you were delayed in coming! When that one tired of making her bleed and scream…they gave her to me!"

Vincent felt like his brain was on fire as Chaos ruthlessly channeled every bit of his rage to the inside. Even with the eldest's best effort, some of it escaped down and out. The floor shifted again with a protesting rumble.

"Mother Gia….YO…Marion, get yer ass outta my range."

Reno had risen and his sidearm was centered on the big Black. The Turk's thin lips were pulled back in an angry fang showing smile, his eyes blazed with a rage induced mako storm. With his line of work, the redhead had finally recognized what he was seeing. The man was shaking with emotion, but his peacekeeper was dead steady.

"Chaos…make her move outta my way. That's not Gods be Damned pretty coloring covering her, those are fricken whip scars!"

Marion's head snapped up.

"NO….Shadow had no part in that! Please…leave him be!"

The demon stalked forward with the evident intention of granting the Turk's request. And… the little Vet instantly dropped into a threat posture. Marion had made no move to protect herself but it was very clear that she was willing to fight for the Troop male! Chaos' pure astonishment was echoed by his Host's but it did not stop him.

"Everybody FREEZE!"

The words were spoken quietly, but Abraham had layered power and dominance in every letter. Even Chaos responded by stopping. The low growl that rumbled out of the ancient being made every one very aware of his opinion of this.

"We can sort this out later….Ice is running out of time!"

Reno blinked, then as if he had flipped a switch, the anger was wiped from his face as he lowered his weapon.

"He's right…"

The Turk turned back to the computer and his long, thin fingers tapped a few keys.

"That bitch grandma triggered a self destruct sequence. I've been trying to override it…but…."

He gave a slight shrug,

"We got about fifteen minutes ta get the Hell outta here. Problem is…."

That brilliant green gaze shifted to Chaos and then over to Ice.

"Highwind miscalculated…the weather outside has turned really shitty…I don't think Ice will survive the trip back! Worse news….it looks like there is a deep chamber underneath us…It's not included in the self destruct radius….YO...ya wanna bet there are cloning tanks down there?"

"There are fifty "specimens" cooking right now….and a separate entrance for someone to retrieve them at a later date."

Shadow managed to choke this out. Then, with a soft groan, he sank down to his belly. The black gagged and wretched up blood and bile. Marion knelt by him, instinctively reaching for his collar…then she jerked her hands back. She remembered how the damned things bit. The beast licked his lips and then spat. His deep voice was strained.

"If the guards didn't reach them, there will be escape copters not too far that way…"

He lifted his chin to point through the door they had come in.

"It will only take you a few minutes to reach them."

The Turk again concentrated on the computer.

"Bingo, there's our ride…none of the Dragonflies have taken off!"

Vincent overrode Chaos' control for a moment.

"Can you fly one of those… Reno?"

One feathery red brow slowly rose, and the spotted male gave the suppressed gunman an indignant look.

"YO…if it has rotors…I can fly it!"

The demon gave a sharp nod.

"JUSTIN…CARRY ICE, RENO YOU NEED TO HELP ABRAHAM…MARION…"

The Changeling tried to drag Shadow's bulk up with her. The beast resisted and pushed her gently towards Ice.

"You go…now…Marion. I do not have the strength to get to the door let alone the copters. I will just slow you down…go now…please! Ice and her kits need you!"

"NO…." Marion frantically tugged on the male. "NO…I will not leave you…we are ALL leaving this hell hole."

A soft growl brought all eyes back to Chaos.

"I WILL BE SURE TO BRING HIM WHEN I COME…." As an obstinate look crossed the little Vet's usually sweet face…Chaos snarled…

"YES, YES…I GIVE MY FUCKING WORD! TELL HIGHWIND TO GET HIS MACHINE INTO THE SKY…WE WILL CATCH UP. NOW ALL OF YOU GET A MOVE ON."

Abraham gave the demon a piercing look.

"Why are you not coming with us now?"

The Ancient Being hissed softly and the walls around him rumbled in answer.

"I AM GOING TO BRING THIS MOUNTAIN DOWN. THERE WILL BE NO ONE RETURNING HERE!"

* * *

Shadow quietly watched the group leave. He did not trust that the winged one would keep his promise. Not that it mattered. The damned control collar was still slowly dripping caustic silver into his veins. He was barely functioning, but not being able to remove the accursed thing had sealed his fate. The abyss beckoned, but the male stubbornly fought it. There was still a task he needed to perform before he let his body shut down!

Shadow had seen the little female draw her first breath. He knew that she had not died of being premature, but that the bitch Angelique had smothered the kit. This was a very… questionable…. way to kill a Were. The cell harvesting that had been done on the little one had not been too terribly damaging and her tiny body had been placed in the cooler almost immediately. Freezing was also not a sure way to kill a Were. Black lips pulled into a slow, sly smile. Something MIGHT still be salvageable here. Shadow knew that Troop members were VERY hard to kill. The Black staggered up to all fours and started making his weaving way towards the heavy metal door of the lab cooler.

* * *

Cold golden eyes followed his progress. When the beast sank for a moment…then struggled back up Vincent gave in to his curiosity. He gave the demon a sharp mental poke.

His eldest stalked forwards and hard hands dragged the beast up and propelled him roughly towards the fridge. One powerful wrench and the door came off of its hinges.

"WHAT ARE YOU AFTER?"

Shadow sagged against the door frame for a moment as he gave the demon a look of immeasurable sadness.

"Too many that I care for have been abandoned to the cold and the dark. Ice's little one deserves better!"

"Mother Gia…." Vincent winced at the visceral reaction that swept through the three.

Galian was the first to recover.

"**I agree with him… Chaos…let him recover our daughter! We can lay her to rest elsewhere!" **

Chaos hissed and closed his eyes. He did not watch or move a muscle as the black staggered into that freezing metal crypt. Instead the Ancient Being gathered all of the hate and rage that this day had wrought, he compressed it, letting it feed the power that was his birthright. Both Valentine and the Galian silently screamed as hellfire burned its' way through their minds. The eldest winced but ruthlessly continued. When his very core was white hot, the demon sent that seething energy down and out. This he did NOT channel through his companions, it would have burned their minds to ash. Instead the dark one buffered them, keeping them separated from the inferno. Chaos poured the energy down into the mountain, following the small seams, cracks and fault lines until he reached its' very root. The rock trembled and an eerie hum built, echoing just out of hearing range as he saturated it with demon fire and then bound the power right at the threshold of exploding. When Angel's self destruct detonated, it would release that which was bound. The mountain would obliterate itself!

Chaos staggered back into awareness as Shadow fell through the cooler doorway. The beast found himself half carried, half dragged as powerful arms tucked him in against a heavily muscled ribcage and the demon ran for their lives.

By the time they reached the open copter hanger, Shadow was choking and gagging. Chaos let him settle to the floor, gold eyes studying the screaming wind and driving snow with alarm. Mother Gia…it would take a mad man to attempt flying in that! Speaking of which…there was a Dragonfly missing…Reno had made that attempt!

Vincent had been given a chance to recover some while the demon made his run. HE was watching Shadow with more than a little alarm. The big male had a small, cloth wrapped bundle tucked in the crook of one arm, but the other sharp taloned hand was digging at the collar that was fused around his thick neck. Bright blood streaked from under it and when the black gave the thing a hard tug there was a crackle of electricity that accompanied the ruby flood. The male gave a panting moan and jerked at it again.

"CHAOS….you need to stop him from doing that!"

The demon glanced down and swearing softly he snatched that clawing hand away before the beast could do himself any more damage. Shadow snarled…

"I do not wish to die wearing this Gods cursed thing!"

The winged one gathered up the male, grunting at the beast's considerable weight. He pinned Shadow's twitching hand away from the collar with the simple act of wrapping both of his powerful arms around the male's weakening body, locking the one arm down. He trusted that the beast would not drop the burden he carried with the other. His response was hissed into one long, thin ear as the weary demon launched them into the storm wracked sky.

"THERE IS AN EASY SOLUTION TO THAT….DON'T DIE!"

* * *

Cid was freezing, he could not feel his feet and his fingers were stiffly stuck around the handle of his chemical sprayer. The flyer looked up, barely able to see through eyelashes that were frozen over, just in time to see his crewman slip and almost fall. SHIT….they had lost this battle. The Captain whistled sharply and when the man looked his way, signaled for all to go inside. Some of those who had departed, had returned bloodied and battered but none had any news of the ones he was waiting for. The pilot had no choice, it was time to get this bitch into the air!

As he carefully worked his way over to an entrance hatch, a muffled howl answered his whistle. Highwind hastily scraped the ice off of his lashes, desperately searching the edge of the almost invisible forest line. There! Vague shadows appeared, running for the ship through the driving storm. The snow that layered the pilot's shoulders did not even get the chance to melt by the time the man sprinted through the ship to meet the group at the open bay. His heart grew as cold as his limbs when Cid realized that there were only four individuals coming up the ramp. He recognized the shaggy form of Griffin and gave a shout when he saw that the snow caked wolfman was carrying the striped form of Yuffie. Even as the blonde strode down to meet them, he heard the bartender tell his burden that they were home and she could let go. Cerulean eyes flew wide and then narrowed as Yuffie's form rippled through her Change… the girl whimpered and Cid snarled a soft curse as he met them on the ramp and got a look at her bloodied, broken form.

"Hey brat….I think it's too Gods be damned cold to be fricken streaking!"

His leather flying jacket, warmed by the man's own body, was placed carefully over his young friend's naked limbs as they entered the ship. Yuffie's sweet smile as her eyes slipped closed went a long way towards replacing the jacket's lost warmth.

The flyer slashed a questioning glance at the dark, silent form of Griffin. He spat out his smoke….it had been bitten through.

"I sure as shitten hope that Vincent got his fricken claws into the son of a bastard who did this!"

The bartender gave him a fang showing, nasty smile….

"CHAOS…. exacted the payment owed for this one….and it is my professional opinion that it was…adequate! He and the others should not be too far behind us!"

As Griffin headed to the med lab with his armful, Highwind trotted to the end of the ramp. He ignored the cold as he anxiously peered through the blowing snow, watching for other shadows. The howl of the wind almost drowned out the sound of copter rotors. Cid heard them just as he saw the massive, threatening shape of a Dragonfly top the far ridge.

"Holy SHIT!"

The Captain could not believe that anyone would be crazy enough to fly one of the triple rotor winged machines in this storm! They were known to be squirrelly even in good weather.

"Mother fucking Gia…"

He had been caught flat footed. Sitting on the damned ground like this, the mighty airship might as well have a shitten great red bulls eye painted on her hull! Even as the Captain thought this, the copter rolled violently on its' side and dropped, caught in a severe wind sheer. Every flying instinct in Cid screamed at the other pilot (enemy or not) to get himself level before he lost all lift. The rotors on the machines' high side slowed as the flyer cut power to that engine, the low one revved up, lifting that side as the high side dropped. Highwind could hear all three engines screaming as the unknown pilot gave them full throttle, red lining his straining craft to the max, trying to stop her fall. The machine leveled and her drop did slow, but a high pitched whine that vibrated the very teeth in his mouth had Cid moving…he baled off the end of the ramp and slithered under it just as the copter's port rotor disintegrated and sent shrapnel in all directions. The Captain screamed a curse as tearing clangs told him some had hit his ship. Highwind only knew one other person who could fly like that and if the fucking redhead survived this HE was gonna shitten KILL the asshole!

"Mother FUCKER! Damn it…. RENO!"

Blue eyes flew wide as the starboard engine on the crippled sky craft was torn to pieces by its' dying twin. Still… somehow… the other pilot managed pull the machine's nose up as it pancaked belly first into the snow. It was so close that Cid was practically buried in the freezing bow wave of white that the huge machine kicked up as it slid to a stop.

Sputtering and kicking, Highwind was dragged out of the drift by said redhead himself. The Turk was still in his beast form and a nasty bloody cut was already closing over one vivid eye.

"No time for napping Highwind…ya gotta get this big bellied bitch into the sky!"

Cid allowed himself to be dragged up the ramp then he dug in his heels as he realized who was missing in the group that was staggering into the ship.

"Wait a fuckin second…Where the HELL is Valentine?"

Reno did not stop dragging him…SHIT the spotted bastard was STRONG!

"Come ON ya old coot! YO…we do NOT want to be earth bound when Chaos lets loose!"

Mako blue eyes bored into cerulean ones as Reno slammed a hand down on the controls that shut the bay.

"HE said to tell you that they will catch up on the fly!"

* * *

Sorry about the delay with this one...will get the next up faster.


	43. Chapter 43

Square Enix holds all rights to the FFVII world and its characters. I am just playing with them for a while. I own the rights to the original parts of this story and to my original characters. Please do not use without my permission.

The Orphans of Cerberus Ch. 43

Rude whistled at Whisper to catch the white's attention. The male stopped his frantic pace for a moment and listened as the Captain's rough voice echoed over the intercom.

"Hey…. you boys better find a good fricken hand hold down there…things are fixing to get pretty damned rough!"

Crimson eyes blinked, then the beast wrapped his tail around a coil of cable. Rude took care to make sure he was well braced. A sharp yelp jerked The Turk's eyes back and he caught Whisper putting out the smoking end of that long appendage with hasty swipes of his tongue. One dark brow arched in question. The albino gave the Turk a happy, but sheepish look and flicked his fingers at the coil.

"Don't touch that…I've got the main cycling up and it is live!"

Cid swore as he powered up the auxiliary engines. The whole ship shuttered and metal moaned as the duel rotors chopped the air, straining to lift excess weight created by ice and snow. The great machine started to slowly rise. The floor bucked and the craft twisted violently as she got enough altitude to feel the full force of the wind.

"MOTHER FUCKER!…."

The Captain wrestled with the helm, trying to keep their nose up and level as the same downdraft that had slammed Reno's copter down tried to do the same to them. Reno reached over the shorter man and added his strength to the fight. Cid did not waste the breath to swear at him or to thank him His worried gaze was on the twin engine's gauges as both needles crept into the red.

"Fuck…come on you bitch…fly!"

Both experienced flyers winced as their ears picked up the high pitched whine that said an engine had reached its' limits and was going to soon protest in a spectacular manner. Highwind's hand dived frantically for the throttle only to be intercepted by Reno.

"Damn it…CAPTAIN…if ya can't get us over the peaks we are as good as dead anyway!"

Cid hissed and slashed a glance at the gauges…they were pegged over past the red.

Reno did not relent.

"YO…Chaos is going to vaporize that mountain! This canyon is goin to channel the ground wave right down on top of us! We gotta get some altitude!"

The string of words that came out of the blonde's mouth, made even the jaded Turk's brows shoot up. Still… Highwind proved he had balls, he pushed the throttles until they were wide open. The engines took on a new desperate note and still the wind pushed them back.

Cid tapped the glass over the gauges… and very quietly murmured…

"We are so fricken screwed!"

A deep throb suddenly shook the great craft. Cid's blue eyes flew wide and he slapped Reno's hand away as the Turk pointed at another gauge. It had been quiescent. Now the needle leaped to life.

"Holy SHIT!…That pink assed bastard did it! The fricken main is online and…. ah Fucking HELL! Now I'm gonna have ta fricken apologize to the big genius of a monkey!"

The pilot flicked the cover off of a toggle and slammed it up. The throb changed to a slow thump as the huge center rotors started to spin. The airship lurched up.

Reno crowed and pumped a fist into the air….

"YO…Come on baby….lift your fat ass for yer daddy!"

Cerulean blue eyes slashed the redhead's way and an answering… almost savage.. grin lit the Captain's face. Funny thing…it was an exact match to the exhilarated look that made the younger pilot's face seem to glow.

The big ship responded as only a good ship…much loved… would. As her main screamed its' way up to speed, she put her shoulders to the wind and ploughed her way into the sky!

As they topped the peaks….Highwind let Reno watch were they were going, he was desperately scanning the storm roiled clouds …looking for the missing. For a moment he thought it was in vain…then his sharp gaze caught a dark speck in the white of the blowing snow. The pilot could tell instantly that his friend was in deep trouble. The same nasty wind currents that had tried to pin his craft to the ground were tossing the great winged demon around like he was so much chaff.

Ah FUCK….the Captain could not believe he was going to do this!

He ducked under Reno's arm and when the startled Turk took his hand off the helm, Cid's strong, broad one grabbed it and put it back on. The other slender hand was engulfed and the older man danced them across the triple throttles.

"Starboard, Port ,and Main…fuckin keep er straight on into the shitten wind. I'd prefer ya kept her fricken level and steady as hell for a few!"

Reno's green eye's flew wide and then blazed mako blue as he put his strength into the helm, heeling the big ship over to point her bucking nose straight into the storm. The three engines howled as he throttled up to compensate. Cid gave the grinning Turk a curt nod….grabbed a safety line and ran for the outside observation deck.

The Captain's face was twisted into a grimace of concern as he attached his line inside the balcony's door and staggered out into the storm. He hummed with worry as the wild wind slammed Chaos down a couple of hundred feet and those great bloodied wings beat with driving thrusts trying to slow the fall while the demon was tossed from side to side. Mother Gia…how was the ancient being staying air born with just the power of his own two wings? For that matter HOW in the fricken HELL had Chaos gotten off of the ground carrying that kind of load? The flyer shook his head…totally impressed in spite of himself.

His gaze jerked back with a surprised curse as his temporary pilot… pulled a Reno… and dropped HIS ship straight down…in essence moving them closer to the struggling flyer. (Cid had to give the boy credit…the Turk DID keep her perfectly straight and level as he did this!) Chaos must have sensed them, because his weary head lifted and Highwind caught a hot flash of golden narrowed eyes, as the demon redoubled his efforts.

Cid hissed at this bitch of a northern storm. The fickle wind current suddenly turned, catching those straining sail like wings and driving the two bodies forward and up. The updraft caught the burdened demon throwing him as if his great weight were nothing. The bat winged fucker was going to come in too high and slam hard into the fricken hull! The Captain reacted instinctively. As the struggling flyer was carried high over the rail…the man leaped up, grabbed what black and grey he could get a hand hold of and swung his compact weight over and down.

It was enough to change Chaos' uncontrolled trajectory. Instead of slamming into the unyielding wall, all three tumbled through the flight deck's open doorway. The exhausted demon had just enough presence of mind to close his wings around all, as they hit the deck, then slid and rolled to a flesh bruising stop. It was a testament to how much the dark lord had drained himself when the minute they settled into a tangled heap, his form dissolved to be replaced by a barely conscious gunman. A stunned Cid heard Reno above the howl of the wind.

"Oh… HELL… no!"

Lifting his head, the Captain got a quick glimpse as the mountain of granite that had hidden the labs seemed to…swell. OH SHIT! His eyes reflexively closed as the entire mass of it disappeared in a brilliant searing blue flash. For the first time in his adult life…Cid's "imaginative" mouth failed him.

"ARGHH…..RENO! Get her ass turned to the wind and RUN!"

"Mother FUCKER!"

The Captain tried to scramble up as Reno…his face, dead white, disobeyed! The three on the floor started to slide as the ship's nose rose. Her pilot kept her head on to the oncoming pressure wave, feathering the throttles. There was a soft grunt from the black form under Cid and he felt a powerful hand close over his ankle. A foot grabbed onto Valentine's gauntleted arm and the other grasped a rail. Shadow's thick tail wound itself around that foot…locking it down. Every one was shoved tight into the floor as the airship lifted fast, ruthlessly being force up by the mass of air being pushed ahead of the explosion. Reno jammed the throttles forwards and as they topped the wave, he daringly spun the ship on her axis. The straining aircraft practically leaped forwards, listing heavily to Port as Reno kept her moving sideways at full throttle. Shadow snarled quietly and tightened his grip. They were in danger of being flung right out the door. Vincent hooked his good hand into Cid's waist band just as the Captain found his voice!

"Holy flaming chocobo NUTS…Reno… you fricken, air sucking ASSHOLE from a Gods be DAMNED lunatic asylum!"

Highwind could not believe this. He could feel his baby vibrating under him, her struts moaning with the strain. If you had told the Captain that a massive airship could be SURFED down the rolling bow wave of an explosion before this, he would have called you a fucking loon! Reno (the brilliant…albeit CRAZY motherfucker) whooped like a banshee, his lean form holding the helm hard over, forcing the mighty ship to hold to her course with everything he had.

"OH YEAH! FUCKING ride er baby…YO…ride er ta HELL and back!"

The explosive wave eventually ran out of momentum. Reno slowed the craft to run with the storm, then watched apprehensively as Cid untangled himself from his fellow floor huggers.

The redhead stuttered a little as he tried to explain…

"YO…Cid…eh…Captain…If we had turned our ass to it…she'd of been rolled like a small town whore!

The Captain very slowly stalked up to the helm. His cerulean eyes never left the redhead's face as he ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair, than calmly lit a smoke. A good solid inhale seemed to steady the blonde's nerves. Reno winced as the man took one blunt finger and lightly tapped the Turk's solid chest.

"Ya had better fuckin listen good…cuz I am going to shitten say this only once. YOU are the Gods be DAMNED… craziest…LUCKIEST…fuckin son of a bastard I have ever had the fricken dubious pleasure of knowing."

Highwind's face was solemn, and his next words were utterly quiet with no trace of his usual flamboyance. …

"Son…that was probably one of the best seat of the pants feats of piloting that I have ever had the honor to see!"

The blunt finger turned hard as the older man gave the redhead a serious poke.

"NOW… having fricken said that…get yer fucking, flame crotched, INSANE ass… away from my damned helm!"

* * *

Abraham silently watched Marion as she read and then re-read the results of Ice's latest blood work. The little Vet had not rested more than a few minutes since they had returned to Shinra Mansion. She had been ruthlessly driving herself into the ground.

Shadow would recover. Whisper had spent a harrowing four hours in surgery with his brother, helping Marion and Griffin get that accursed collar off of the black's neck. Abraham had practically vaporized the hateful thing when it was brought out. Although… it was what had saved his son in the long run. The repeated dosing of liquid silver that he had received as "punishment" had helped the black's body build up a premature resistance to the corrosive poison.

The Vet also made herself responsible for a very impatient Yuffie and…. Ice... who drifted in and out of awareness. Griffin had taken over the care of the newborns, who were all doing well. All… that is except the little female who had been warmed back into life. That little one had evidently not been able to draw enough life giving oxygen in the one breath she had been allowed to take before her long freezing. Her body was slowly ticking along…but there was no mind evident behind the soft topaz of her blank eyes.

The Patriarch tilted his head as he heard Reno enter the lab. AH….he had been waiting for the boy.

"Marion… you need to get some rest."

The elderly man winced as the Vet slammed a hand down on the lab table and then violently swept glass and paper onto the floor. Her husky voice was a breathless sob.

"Damn it Abraham…I do not have the time to sleep. I am trying…I've got to….it's just not FAIR!"

The man waited patiently and Marion finally looked up to meet his warm grey gaze with haunted eyes.

"I can't save her….and I don't have the heart to tell HIM this!"

The woman did not notice the Turk as he quietly slipped behind her. A flash of gold from the darkness on one medical bed showed that SOMEONE had noticed.

The Alpha wolf held her attention.

"I will tell the winged one…you do not have to be the one to do this."

Marion looked as if she were going to protest then she yelped as Reno deftly planted the hypo he carried in her thigh. The woman rounded on him and the man stepped back, startled by the desperation in her eyes. She staggered and strong arms caught her as she fell.

"Damn it Reno…please…" The rest was almost a sob. "I don't want to sleep alone!"

Surprised by the fear he heard in those words. The Turk gently cradled her increasingly limp body.

"Yo…you can bunk with Whisper and me?…"

The woman managed a derisive snort at this.

"Yeah…that's what I figured you'd say!"

There was a soft rustle. When they looked towards him, Shadow rolled onto his side to make room and lifted the edge of his blankets. At Reno's questioning look the woman gave him a relieved albeit groggy nod. She was asleep before the man settled her gently beside the beast. Shadow slipped an arm around the small body and pulled her into the curve of his belly as he settled the blanket around the exhausted woman's shoulders. Abraham gave his son a thoughtful nod then he rose and left the lab.

The Patriarch moved silently through the quiet halls of the mansion. The only way they had been able to get Yuffie to rest…was to dump the dead to the world body of Valentine into her bed and order her to keep the man there. When the old wolf slipped into the Princess' room, he was not surprised to see the girl fast asleep, curled up against the man's chest. Vincent lifted his head and wearily watched as the grey eyed man approached the bed. Abraham kept his voice low.

"Marion told me to tell you that it is all right now for the father…um…fathers to come down and see Ice's sons."

Abraham watched silently as impassive crimson eyes studied each of Ice's newborn sons in turn. Vincent bit the end of a finger and slipped his leather glove off. That hand dropped to gently shift the three little bodies apart. The smallest protested this with a little squeak. He was as black as his uncle….with wings of unrelieved night. When the little one's eyes opened to indignantly track a long, pale finger…they were the startling vivid blue of a mid summer sky. The second boy was a soft blonde…almost the exact color of ripened wheat…he sleepily blinked deep burgundy eyes at his…ah…fathers…tightened his butter yellow wings around himself and promptly went back to sleep. A careful hand moved soft wisps of mane out of the way…and then stroked across the tiny nubs of creamy white horns. The first born was an unusual dove grey, there was almost a lilac hue to his silken coat. He already had the beginnings of a black, spiky mane that was tipped with rich cinnamon red. The eyes that gleamed intelligently up at the bonded three were Chaos' glimmering gold. This one fluttered HIS twilight purple wings and crankily insisted that he be allowed to wiggle back and resume sucking on a brother's tail!

Something imperceptivity tight relaxed in the old wolf's face as Valentine's still, pale features softened. The weary crimson of his eyes brightened and then warmed to rich burgundy and his mouth sudden curved up in a rare…true smile. The fingers of the gunman's flesh hand gently tickled the black's velveteen belly. The little male squirmed and his blunt muzzle opened in a toothless grin as his tail coiled along Vincent's gun calloused palm. The man's whispered words were almost inaudible.

"Ahh…Mother Gia….Chaos, Galian! Our "puppy's" are….beautiful!"

"AH…INDEED THEY ARE!"

Vincent got a vivid image of Galian with his whole body awag. The wagging slowed as Griffin appeared at Abraham's elbow…none of the bonded three liked the look that shadowed the Patriarch's grey eyes.

* * *

Vincent desperately tried to shield his heart from the storm of emotions that raged through him, centering around his two demons. Any who saw the gunman at this moment would have no clue as to the maelstrom going on inside of his mind, so still was his pale face. Chaos hovered quietly, close to the surface, as the man settled in a chair Abraham had placed by Ice's bed. The gunman wanted to speak with the golden female for a moment, then he would step back and give the Ancient Being time to be with his mate.

The man's ungloved flesh hand softly stroked the sleeping female's rich cinnamon mane.

"Mother Gia….I am so sorry Ice…maybe if we hadn't followed you…this…"

A soft growl vibrated his hand and he found himself looking into tired silvery blue eyes. The female's hands drifted through a hesitant dance.

"_Vincent Valentine…Don't you DARE feel sorry about this! I am very glad that you followed and brought Whisper and myself up out of the dark. I.. thank you…for allowing me to live in light and warmth, even for just a little while. _

Valentine understood fully when her pale gaze drifted to look around the med lab and her fingers weakly danced again.

"_Chaos…I do not wish to spend anymore of my life in this place…would you please take me to sleep in my room?"_

Valentine turned a questioning glance to Griffin. The quiet man sighed…

"We are just buying her time… the outcome will be the same no matter where Ice is at."

The bartender met the gunman's unhappy crimson/gold gaze unwaveringly.

"If I take her off of support, she has a few more hours of consciousness, then coma. It will be no more that forty eight hours."

A slight nod…and Vincent let Chaos come forwards. He would not deny his eldest what time the golden were had left. The demon waited silently for Griffin and Abraham to disconnect the machines and remove the needles that were tying Ice to life. Then the winged one carefully carried his mate up the long staircase and settled her onto her bed.

Ice's pale lips lifted in a contented smile as she reacquainted herself with the place that Cid and her had chosen as HERS with a loving glance. All of her odd little "Troop" drifted in one at a time to give the female their love and to say good-by. Even Rude, who carried Yuffie up…the solemn Turk was only able to plant a soft kiss on Ice's velveteen lips and then he hastily had to leave. Marion and Abraham brought the kits to stay in her room and the three sons nestled together, sleeping in there mother's arms one last time. No one had the heart to tell the dying female about the one little daughter who's slowly breathing, mindless body remained in the incubator situated not to far from her bed. A few hours later, when she slid into a final coma…Chaos buried himself so far down in his Host's mind it was as if the eldest wasn't there at all.

* * *

Highwind had already said his good byes to sweet little Ice but he joined the others in her room when Abraham came onto the ship to let him know that she was leaving them. The Captain was very worried about Chaos. Valentine had distractedly told him that there had been no sign from his eldest for over twenty four hours and the man was worried about the Ancient demon's state of mind. It was as if the demon was gone. Cid was surprised to see a bewildered look of loss in those crimson eyes when the man confessed that he missed the dark one's presence. The blonde swallowed against a sudden lump in his throat…Mother Gia…It was bad enough that he was already missing the breath of sunshine that Ice had brought into his life…NO…he suddenly realized that HE missed the bat winged fucker too!

When he joined the solemn group by Ice's death bed…the pilot looked hard into Valentine's dull red eyes. There was not a hint of gold there and when Cid raised a questioning brow…the gunman gave a dispirited shake of his head.

FUCK…Cid could NOT believe he was going to do this…and in front of everyone!

The man stubbed out his smoke and two strong hands closed on a surprised Valentine's shoulders.

"HELL…Fucking promise me ya ain't goin ta fricken knock me inta next week!"

Ruby eyes flew wide…

"What?…"

Cerulean blue bored into the crimson.

"Listen ya bat winged fucker…I know ya can shitten hear me! Ya just can't do this. I fricken understand WHY ya might want ta pull a shitten Vincent and hide fucking forever…but there are a hell of a lot of people out here who are yer Gods be damned friends…we are HERE ta help ya through this, that's what FRIENDS are for!"

The man's rough voice broke….and he gave the stunned gunman a little shake.

"Damn it Chaos….I wanna be here for ya…Doncha….you can't fricken…I wanna …ah HELL!"

Vincent went rigid as the Captain leaned forwards, his desperate gaze never wavering until he settled his strong lips over the gunman's. The kiss wasn't passionate…it was almost chaste. BUT…it did stir a reaction. The raven haired man held himself perfectly still as he felt Chaos push forward for the first time in over a day. The demon returned the flyer's gentle, tentative kiss, and then he rested Vincent's pale forehead against that of the blonde's. The deep, rough voice was a quietly pleading whisper.

"ALL OF THE MIGHT AND POWER THAT I WIELD AND I CAN DO NOTHING FOR HER! LITTLE EAGLE…. I CANNOT …THIS IS NOT …MOTHER GIA….PLEASE…"

There was a whisper of power that moved through the still, grief filled air of Ice's room. The Goddesses golden light danced on the slight breeze…and Chaos' broken prayer was answered.

"_**Do not despair…beloved son….I am here…"**_

Vincent sucked in a surprised breath as he felt the brush of unseen warm lips on his forehead. The words that accompanied this were as soft as the rustle of an angel's wings.

"_**The Mother recognizes that these three have sacrificed and suffered for her sake. We give this gift as a small payment toward that debt. Gatherer of souls…come forward and do that which you were created to do."**_

Vincent felt Chaos try to withdraw back to the depths of his mind.…

"NO…DO NOT ASK THIS OF ME."

The silky voice was inexorable….

"_**I do not …ASK… Obey me in this, Harbinger of Doom, and feel what it is to be a bringer of hope…all will be well. Hold the little vessel and "gather" the other's life essence." **_

Vincent did not mind stepping back at all, he did not wish to bear the brunt of the emotional storm that was raging through his eldest's heart. All watched as the great demon gathered the small, unmoving body of his pale daughter with incredible gentleness and held her, cradled in the crook of his arm. Then the Ancient Being carefully settled on the bed beside the still form of his mate. He eased Ice up until she was carefully infolded in the comforting strength of his wing. Chaos ran his talons gently through the cinnamon mane, then with a softly whispered…"I AM SORRY MY LOVE"… he rested his hand lightly over his lover's failing heart.

Watching and "feeling" from inside his eldest's mind, Valentine's own heart broke as a long, golden tail stroked along warm grey skin and slowly wound itself around the demon's thick wrist. Beside him, trapped in a being for whom experiencing grief was a new and terrible thing, Galian lifted up his muzzle, singing Chaos' sadness for him. The gunman realized that all the Were's present had dropped into their beast form. Raising their shaggy heads, the "Family" gave voice to an eerie harmony. The sad beauty of wolf song sounded in the room.

Whisper sagged, dropping onto his rump to sit with his long toes folded and his tail wound into a tight unhappy coil. Reno eased down beside him and let the white bury his long face into a warm, strong shoulder. Rude gently pulled an unabashedly sobbing Yuffie into his arms so she could lean on his solid strength. Abraham's beautiful voice rang out like the deep tolling of a bell and the song became a haunting chorus as all of the Family and forest brethren who had gathered on the mansion grounds joined in.

Glimmering points of green energy started to lift and coalesce around Chaos. Ice's tail released its' hold and fell limp as her form began to fade. The golden light of the Goddess flared bright, mantling and then obscuring the dark form of the demon.

"_**This was a bright spirit…dimmed but not extinguished by pain, grief and loneliness. Only in the autumn of her life was her flame allowed to shine, warming those around her with kindness and compassion. We give this one the chance to relive a stolen childhood, surrounded by Family and protected by those who have finally opened their shuttered hearts so that they may know joy!"**_

The glimmering mix of green and gold blazed like the new life in spring, swirling and tightening around the too still form of the little kit. Then it seemed to sink, fading until just bright highlights were left. These settled on the little female's pale coat, dappling her body in shimmering gold. The power of the Goddess lifted away, causing Chaos' raven mane to rise and dance as if being caressed by gentle fingers. The grim face lifted and golden eyes closed for a moment as for the first time in his long existence the demon was granted a gentle peace. Movement against his chest had his eyes snapping open and then widening as a tiny golden tail, stroked along the back of his hand and twined around and between his fingers. Wonder made the dark lord's aquiline face breathtakingly beautiful as Chaos' daughter squeaked, and stretched. One soft wing, the color of new cream, opened and fluttered as her delicate wedge shaped muzzle split in a tongue curling yawn.

Cid had slipped silently up to kneel beside the demon and a dark wing lifted and then settled lightly around his shoulders as the man's blunt finger gently stroked the child's cinnamon mane. The gruff pilot's face lit up in a dazzling smile as the kit opened her sleepy eyes to gaze solemnly up at him.

"Well….I'll be damned….!"

They were the pale, pale blue of arctic ice.

FINIS

(For a short time!)

* * *

I do have a sequel planned...even have the prologue already written. Some reviews must might motivate me to post it, and to get working on the rest.


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